The first time I went
up to the top of the Blorenge Mountain, I was very surprised to find a large pond up there,
on top of the mountain!
The little market town of Abergavenny lies down below, in between the Blorenge and Sugarloaf Mountain that you can see in the distance. |
And I was even more
surprised to find water lilies on the pond.
The Water Lily, a relative of the Lotus flower, is a rather exotic flower, isn't it? Something you associate with tropical countries - or at least somewhere with plenty of sunshine?
Certainly the last thing you'd expect to find on top of a mountain in Wet and Wild Wales.
This photograph of Water Lilies on the Keeper's Pond has become one of my best-selling Sympathy Cards |
But there they were,
blooming on the Keeper's Pond!
So I did a bit of
internet 'digging' and discovered, here, that there are a great many
different varieties of Water Lilies, some of them hardy enough to
grow in temperate climates.
The giant, tropical water lilies were
first introduced into the UK in 1849 and grown in a specially built
greenhouse at Chatsworth House. But there are others that seem to
thrive in wild or semi-wild habitats - on top of the Blorenge, for instance!
In many cultures and
religions, the Water Lily is regarded as sacred. Maybe it's the
symbolism associated with the fact that they grow up through the mud
in the dark at the bottom of the pond?
Wherever they grow,
whether in the tropics or not, Water Lilies are always exquisitely
beautiful. Monet certainly thought so!
One of Monet's many 'Water Lily' paintings - probably my favourite. |
And the Water Lily is
the July Birth Month flower.
I was quite nervous
about attempting to make a collage Water Lily for this month's
repeating pattern. All those petals made from painted tissue paper
could easily end up as a soggy mess. But I had already painted some
for a July Birthday Card and I wanted to do something a bit different
this time.
I began with a border -
It didn't turn out too
badly and, combined with another pond inhabitant, the dragonfly, it
resulted in some interesting patterns -
So, here's this month's Birth Month Flower message:
Be like the Water Lily -
2 comments:
I love your water lily pattern with the dragonfly. We had some water lilies in the ponds of our garden for awhile but they just didn't come back one year. I should look into planting some more one of these days.
Thank you, Victoria, glad you like the pattern. :)
How lovely to have your own water lilies! I definitely think you should plant some if you can. Then you can paint them!
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