Words and pictures from the author of And the Crows Took Their Eyes as well as the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries . . .
Monday, June 14, 2010
Queen of the Night
With all the carrying on here at the house, it was lucky that I stepped into the greenhouse yesterday morning and noticed the single swelling bud on the night blooming cereus.
These blooms open at dark and close forever with the coming of dawn. It's a one shot deal and easy to miss -- but as we finished supper, I remembered to take a flashlight and check to see if this was the night.
The intense fragrance greeted me as soon as I opened the door and there she was, in all her glory -- the Queen of the Night.
It was a fitting close to a lovely day -- a delicious lunch in Asheville with members of the extended family -- and a day that saw the coffee maker repaired, the shower drain unclogged, and the oven (we think) in working order once again. All thanks to John.
I had to go to Wikipedia to learn that what my mother called "Queen of the Night" cactus is apparently an Echinopsis. Its globose shape is very different from your cereus, but the flowers look very similar. They also last through one night only. My mother's original one must be at least 40 years old now.
I believe we'll need to move ours outdoors to the porch where it has rewarded us in the past with magnificent blooms. Aren't they simply unbelievable?! Thank you for reminding me. What an adventure your weekend was! Who could ask for more?!
Vicki I am behind after writing my long post and getting reading for our trip tomorrow. I read all your posts though and loved your hydrangea and the fact that you have such a great garden. We went to the hydrangea Festival in LaGrange last Saturday and bough 3 hydrangeas. We just don’t know where to plant them, searching for just a bit of sunlight. We may have to cut a couple of trees in the front yard and hope they will get enough sun. I also enjoyed the old pictures and postcard on your post on the Dupree. I love your guest room, it must be dreamy to sleep there. Your don’t worry meal reminds me of a German lady at work – it anything went wrong, she would say “don’t vorry – we are flexible, we’ll make do.” Great way to be. I have never heard nor seen the Queen of the Night flower – it looks very special and I can just imagine how sweet the fragrance must be. Got to pack the suitcases.
were all those repair jobs something to do with the visitors? In which case, can I borrow them. Lovely flower, the most beautiful creations are also the most fleeting. Perhaps that is good, otherwise we might not appreciate them as much as we do.
21 comments:
Oh wow. And that's about all that needs to be said about that. It does bear repeating, though. Oh wow!
What a beautiful flower, I've never seen one before. So glad John was able to repair everything!
I've never seen one of those before. It's beautiful but it has a suggestion of something from another world too, so pale and ethereal.
Magnificent blossom!
I had to go to Wikipedia to learn that what my mother called "Queen of the Night" cactus is apparently an Echinopsis. Its globose shape is very different from your cereus, but the flowers look very similar. They also last through one night only. My mother's original one must be at least 40 years old now.
Breath-taking beautiful flower and fragrant too! A lovely ending to a lovely day!
Hurray for John! It's a blessing to have a husband who can make everything right.
I believe we'll need to move ours outdoors to the porch where it has rewarded us in the past with magnificent blooms. Aren't they simply unbelievable?! Thank you for reminding me. What an adventure your weekend was! Who could ask for more?!
Elora
That flower is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Wow. Beautiful
oh wow. she is beautiful...never seen one before...nice.
Wow-makes me wish I was there to smell it too.
Vicki I am behind after writing my long post and getting reading for our trip tomorrow. I read all your posts though and loved your hydrangea and the fact that you have such a great garden. We went to the hydrangea Festival in LaGrange last Saturday and bough 3 hydrangeas. We just don’t know where to plant them, searching for just a bit of sunlight. We may have to cut a couple of trees in the front yard and hope they will get enough sun. I also enjoyed the old pictures and postcard on your post on the Dupree. I love your guest room, it must be dreamy to sleep there.
Your don’t worry meal reminds me of a German lady at work – it anything went wrong, she would say “don’t vorry – we are flexible, we’ll make do.” Great way to be.
I have never heard nor seen the Queen of the Night flower – it looks very special and I can just imagine how sweet the fragrance must be. Got to pack the suitcases.
Oh, what a wonder. Just gorgeous.
What a gorgeous thing, I can almost smell it too....I had never heard of those, glad you posted it.
were all those repair jobs something to do with the visitors?
In which case, can I borrow them.
Lovely flower, the most beautiful creations are also the most fleeting. Perhaps that is good, otherwise we might not appreciate them as much as we do.
Tatty, It's an oh wow moment when you see one of these!
He's pretty amazing, Victoria!
Kind of a space alien of a flower, jennyfreckles!
I'll have to check out the Echinopsis, Merisi.
A hearty amen to that, Pat!
Have a great trip, Vagabonde!
Just the confluence of bad luck that everything went down while company was here, Friko! Fortunately, John is terrific at fixing stuff.
That is beautiful. What kind of a plant is that? I have never heard of it.
It's a kind of cactus, Jon Lee. Click on the link in the blog for a full description.
That's not only an exquisite flower, but also interesting! There will be but a small number of people who have ever seen this flower.
she is cute!
have a smiling Tuesday!
omg - this is breathtaking, truly!
That is beautiful!
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