The Amaryllis Project
Posted by kdwolski | Filed under Projects
This past weekend I picked up an Amaryllis at the grocery store. Growing up, my family would grow an Amaryllis in anticipation of Christmas. It acted as sort of a “botanical advent calendar”. I decided to carry this holiday tradition on in my own home this holiday season, with a bit of a twist. I thought it would be interesting to document its growth cycle by taking a picture each day and compiling a progressive set of photos, which can easily be interacted with in a “flip book” like fashion.
I’m using an awesome script called ImageFlow written by Finn Rudolph to display the sequence of photos. It is an adaptation of the classic “cover flow” component I’m sure you’ve seen in various media players, like iTunes. You can use the slider or your keyboards’ arrow keys (the best method IMO) to cycle between the set of photos and (hopefully) see the daily growth of this year’s Christmas Amaryllis.
For those curious: the bulb was planted on 11.30.09 and sits in a southern facing window. The bloom should be red with white striping. I’ll be updating each night with the latest picture and height measurements. I have my fingers crossed that it will be in full bloom before Christmas. You may be seeing a massive growth spurt towards the end of the month if it doesn’t make it before my holiday travels begin. Maybe next year, with a little more planning, a web cam setup will be implemented. Consider this year an exploration, and unlike NASA, failure IS an option…
Side note
Interestingly enough, what many people regard as an Amaryllis is actually called a Hippeastrum. This fact may prove to be useful if you encounter a lull in conversation around the punch bowl this holiday season.
Feel free to make your thoughts known in the comment section below. I’d love to know what you think about this post. If you care to reflect on your own unusual holiday traditions that is cool too. I may tweet updates to this little experiment, so feel free to follow me (@kdwolski) if you like.
Post Image Source: @tanakawho - http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=731073
I am a professional web developer born and raised in Western Massachusetts, educated in the Ocean State and now residing in Greater Boston. A bona fide web and technology geek.
This website serves as as central landing point for all of my publicly facing viewpoints, interests and resources.