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Garden is located at 778 6803, in front of the Carillon banners. Those traveling from great distances will find that it is halfway between the OE mega and the LoTR mega, on the west side of the Nile.

The Art of Family

Anyone who has worked on the Test of the Formal Garden may feel that going from newbie island to garden-ready in just under 3 weeks, including crossbreeds from personally-nurtured bulbs is about as impractical as confining a large, loving family to "formality". It's just not the way to do it. However, take that same family, or better yet, a couple of such families, as a support network, and you'll find there's much you can do, if you haave faith in them, and in yourself.

For those looking for formality, or long, drawn-out talk of splints and genetics, I'm NOT sorry to say, you won't find it here. Welcome to the Art of Family, a tribute to the online family that nurtured me, just as I've nurtured these flowers. May it instill in even one of you the joy and enthusiasm for pure whimsical puttering without getting bogged down in the technical side of flower growing.

Introducing the Family That Inspired It

The folks from Carillon in EQ welcomed a stray into their midst in December of 2003 - one who had been in the game since beta, but who had been gone from the lands for many months. It didn't take long for them to become family, and for "Auntie Sheaf" to find herself a home. So, when "Mama Ray" and "Papa Pat" spoke so highly of their visit to Egypt - to the point of inviting us all over for their wedding, I just had to see what the family was up to. I've been here ever since.

The family has grown since then, with not only folks from our EQ family, but several new arrivals as well. It even includes several RL couples, and one of their offspring. Some live at "home" (Carillon compound), others have spread their wings and found their niches elsewhere. All of them are like family to us, regardless of where they live.

I can think of no better place, no better family, for this garden celebrating family.

Enough Already with the Mushy Stuff - Tell Us About the Flowers!

The Leading Ladies - flowers I coaxed others into naming

Thankfully, the three women who have had the most impact on me, my garden, and our guild, all had the crossbreeding skill - and had made no crossbreeds on this server. (Alya was/is a lily breeder on the German server). With little coaxing, I had them initiate crossbreeds in a greenhouse using bulbs from my collection.

The centerpiece of this garden is raya#1, just as "Mama Raya" is the center of our guild, the glue that holds us together. Filled with a lively exuberance that is contagious, and a heart that is larger than the largest desert, she blooms best when surrounded by family.

When I was first informed that sculptures were now "the thing to do" in a formal garden, the stubborn redhead in me immediately vowed to not include one in my garden. However, I decided this flower needed to be properly surrounded by the gems that are Carillon. (Sculpture provided by my slave ... um, mule ... Fenrissa.) This also allows the males in the guild to be represented, as they're really not the flower types, for the most part, but they're definitely gems! You are, most definitely, my sister-in-spirit.

Next comes kona#1. It's hard to put into words what "Auntie Kona" means to the Carillon family, much less to me. She embraced a guild of enthusisiastic newcomers, and found herself quickly adopted. Friend, teacher, confidante, co-consipirator on prezzies for others, bearer of gifts ... she, and her new namesake, cast tall but welcoming shadows in this hot desert land. I promise, I've forgotten alllll about that pile of dung in my tent! I look forward to more plotting and planning on how the two insomniac "Aunties" can spoil their family without smothering them, but ... I'll get you, my pretty, and your ruby slippers too! ;)

Finally, there's alya#1. Alya quietly slipped into our compound one day, to bring over Raya and Atchoo's wedding presents, and stopped to admire the flowers. The next thing she knew, she was adopted into the family by Raya. She's become an important, if quiet, part of the family, in short order. Raya calls her a princess, meaning it with great love and respect, but I've never heard of any princess that works as hard as she does! Many times I've turned around to do various chores around the guild camp, only to find them already completed - whether it's feeding the flowers, processing flax, making charcoal, growing cabbage, making potash - the list goes on and on. She overhears of a need and quietly fills it. The flower, like the woman it is named for, is quietly classy and a welcome addition to the Carillon family.

The families - chips off the old block?

In more than one instance during my whimsical approach to crossbreeding, I've ended up with a resulting child that is the spitting image of one of the two parents. If I ever get the time and supplies to do so, I may try the same parent bulbs, but reverse the splints. Another fun test would be to try the dominant parent with a specific variety, then the child with the same variety, to see how far the similarities carry over with another shift.

She's got her mother's eyes

Other times, the children have carried quite noticeable signs of both parents. It hasn't always produced the result I was necessarily hoping for, but I not only learn a bit more with each cross, but have also managed to produce some interesting shades to enhance my collection.

Are you sure this is our child?

Just as in real life, sometimes you just stare at a child, and wonder if those are truly its parents, or if it was a changeling. Careful checking of the family tree shows that, yes, this child is the offspring of those parents, though the non-genetecists amongst us (like me) may still be looking a bit bemused. ;D

The Nursery

Blooms to nourish and nurture in hopes of more children to enrich our family! In some cases, these flowers have been carefully dragged, already budding, from the camp into the garden for display and some TLC. (In many ways akin to how Raya coaxed several of us over from EQ, much to our great joy). You'll see a new (to my collection) bloom amongst them as a symbol of the fact that there's always room in our hearts and our home for one more.

Just Because Forget the "why"s Forget the "what if"s Follow your instincts Celebrate the results

The Family Tree

Genetics information for siofra bulbs

Acknowledgements

With heartfelt thanks to all the members of Carillon - your love and support of this rabid redheaded gardener have meant a lot to me. I'm not going to single everyone out by name, I need to mention a few of them specifically.

The members of Rain and Dreams - whether it be answering a question for a still-fresh newbie, cheering me on when I've bounced all over with some new success, or stray gifts without stomping on my redheaded independence, you folks have been great. Thanks, gang!

The Nileside folks - Nileside Cafe and Lounge both - to the elders/founders - for providing valuable services to the community that must entail a LOT of work that rarely gets recognized. To the lounge community at large - thanks for helping with questions and assistance with trades and such. You've made it easier for me to dive into Egypt head-first.

Amazons - what goes for the Lounge community goes for you ladies as well. While I often didn't get them directly from the sources, I'm very pleased that several of the "parent" bulbs in my collection bear names of noted Amazons.

GarettH - the paints may not have worked out, but the extra bulbs definitely helped give my breeding experiments ... and the camp in general, a boost.

LittleCleo - thanks for putting up with not one, but two whimpers for paints. It was really appreciated.


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Last edited June 9, 2004 9:51 pm by Siofra (diff)
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