Sunrise Ajo Lily
by Robert Bales
Title
Sunrise Ajo Lily
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
This Ajo lily was facing the sunrise and the beautiful tones of the sunrise was captured by the lily.
Looking much like an Easter Lily, this plant can be easily seen growing grows along desert roads in the spring. The Desert Lily has a deep bulb that sends up a stem in early spring that can be 1 to 4 feet high. A cluster of long, blue-green leaves with white margins grows just above the ground. The Desert Lily's leaves are about an inch wide with wavy edges and grow 8 to 20 inches long.
The Desert Lily was called "Ajo (garlic) Lily" by the Spanish because of the bulb's flavor. Native Americans used the bulb as a food source. These bulbs can remain in the ground for several years, waiting for enough moisture to emerge.
BLM administers the popular Desert Lily Sanctuary, officially designated by Congress in 1994 as part of the California Desert Protection Act which reinforced BLM administrative protection of the area dating back to 1968. The Sanctuary is located on State Highway 177, just 7 miles northeast of Desert Center. The best time to visit the Desert Lily Sanctuary is February through April.
It is pollinated by the sphinx moth and blooms in March or April, but not every year. When the growing season is over, the bulb and its 10 inch root lie dormant, 1/2 to two feet underground. It is found in southwestern Arizona and northern Mexico. The town of Ajo, Arizona was apparently named after the ajo lily, because they are (or were) so prevalent there. Presumably, the Ajo Mountains that are in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument may also have gotten their name for the same reason. I found a poem titled "Ajo Lily" by Peggy Shumaker in in The Amicus Journal, dated March 22, 1997. It reads, in part, " Two feet deep under earth...the bulbs swell, sweetness too deep to lure larvae, ground too hard even wet years to tempt claws. Impossibly delicate one layered shoot reaches up, pushing aside massive rubble...so these clear blue bells might echo ajo, ajo..."
Uploaded
February 20th, 2014
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Comments (40)
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 Views on One Image Group's Special Features Nominations For Promotion #26 . Please help your fellow artists by visiting and passing on the love to another artist in the the 1000 Views on One Image Group....L/F/Tw
Micah Offman
Nominating this fabulous image for a special feature on the 1000 view group... fav/like/p
Christopher James
Congratulation.....your wonderful work has been featured in the 1000 Views on 1 Image Group ..... Feel free to place your featured image in the Features Archive and any Genre specific Archive l/f/p
Marvin Blaine
Exceptional lighting Robert! Love how this pops! Beautiful piece! F!
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks so much Marvin for the wonderful comments and the F I will have go looking for them next month!!
Kae Cheatham
Robert, You have such a great way with lighting. Wonderful. V/F
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks Kae for the comment and the VF!!! I think light is one of the most important part of a photo!!
Zinvolle Art
Such beautiful capture !Love the tone and the lighting! Elegant work! L
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks so much Zinvolle for the wonderful comments on the lily and thanks for the LIKE!!
Linda Phelps
L. Wow! The marvelous sunrise gold color in these flowers is fantastic. How nice to have most of the flowers facing the sun. I also like the way the light plays on the buds and the leaves. Delightful composition. Love the deep brown in the backgound.
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks for the wonderful review of the lily. I was waiting for the sunrise in hope to get the color in the BG. I have another idea to use the sunset for the BG when the conditions are right,