Over on the right side of my garage is a bed of beautiful wonderful plants. I have shown pictures of some of them over this year, and this one above is one of my very favorites....I guess I say that about almost every plant in the garden...(lol)...Well, this particular plant has always intrigued me because I've never seen another one exactly like it.
What is unusual about this plant is the design. I've had her for about 20 years....Almost from the beginning of the garden and this bed, to the right of the garage, is where I planted the very first things...This Cereus was only about 2 feet high when I planted her....now she is about 8 feet high....well, some of her arms are that high....This is another 'night bloomer' but when she blooms the flowers stay open---albeit not as wide open---for part of the daylight hours as well, which is not always the case with certain other night blooming Cereus plants as you saw when I posted all those flowers in July on that other Cereus plant....
Above is the 'night' bloom....taken after 11:pm at night....
And in this picture above is another flower taken during the morning hours...Wilting a bit but still very beautiful I think....these flowers are about two and three-quarters inches to three inches in diameter...they have a very veryfaint sweet smell....Here is a photograph of how these flowers look when they are bigger than those little dark red dots in that first photograph...but still just at the early stages of their journey....
And if you go back and look at the very first picture you can see them when they are even smaller than this....when they look like those little dark red dots I just mentioned....and there are hundreds of them this year...And btw, these all turn into fruit....
What I love about this picture above is you can see almost all the stages that these flowers/fruit go through....you see the small flower buds still growing and then a flower over to the left that is going to open and then a little bit of the dead flowers...(I will post a better picture of that in a moment...) And then the part that is left after the dead flower falls off and the 'fruit' is still there on it's journey to being ripe....
See, all those dark dried up looking thingy's which just fall off and drop, are the dead flowers. And at the bottom of the dead flowers, still attached to the plant, are these green fruits. And then in this picture above is this one piece of fruit that has begun to really ripen....But, has not burst open yet....(Yes, these burst open, too...but I haven't been able to get close enough to get a picture of that...) When it does ripen and then bursts open,
look who comes to have a lovely meal....
Yeah! One morning I went out to do something else entirely and saw a couple of birds happily eating one of the fruits that had burst open....This guy had a buddy, or girl friend/boyfriend who was chomping on a piece of fruit on a different part of the plant. I went back in the house to get my camera...they were still there when I came out. I hurridly took this picture because I was so afraid they were going to fly away...
Well, this guy did fly away right after I got this shot, but his partner did not. He/She was not at all disturbed by seeing me or by me moving around.... I had to go to a different angle because the sun was really going in the wrong direction, plus I couldn't see him really good...so, I went around behind my neighbors wall, and this way was able to get a better angle and a pretty good view of this very happy bird!
I love that he has his nose right in there....these are very very sweet fruits...And the inside is this dark red/purple lucious looking stuff....yum!
You can kind of see how deep the color of the fruit is in this picture above....I wish I could have gotten a better picture of him, but we take what we can get when we can get it! (lol)
I may have distracted him for a second...in the picture above....But he went back to his lovely snack a second later...I couldn't get over how he was so intent on his meal here that he was never distracted enough by me moving around to fly away....
In this next picture I was able to get in a position where you can see this little guy better, and the fruit better, too....
And one more of this dear birdie....you can really see the color of the fruit in this picture below....I also love that you can see all the fruit that is developing....and I'm hoping I'll get some more pictures of the birds visiting and snacking....
And, I will leave you with this lovely picture below, of a few flowers that were opened near each other at the same time....Such lovely delicate flowers, still beautiful the next morning....
More To Come....
- had this to say:
oh i do so love these catus flower pictures... i remember the ones from june.
beautiful. thak you :)- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 3:49:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Wow! They really are fabulous. You call it the night bloom. Why? Does it wither in the daytime? You do really have a wide array of beautiful plants.
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 3:55:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
That is so hot Naomi that you have wonderful plants around your garden and I like the pic of that bird with it!
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 4:53:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Beautiful, gorgeous, awesome! You have an amazing array of plants. I think the close-ups on the flowers would make fantastic subjects for some paintings. :-)
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 5:15:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
It's so strangely beautiful! Uniform and rubbery looking. The flower is delicate and the fruit... have you ever tried tasting it?
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 6:19:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
What an intriguing plant. Lovely photos as always. it always amazes me that such lumpy, bumpy, spikey adnstrange looking plants can produce such beautiful flowers. There is probably a metaphore for life in there!
Thanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a message. I am going through a particularly trying time at the moment but I hope to have more energy and time to post something soon.- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 6:41:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
It is a rather unique and lovely cactus. Thanks for sharing it, Naomi.
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 7:40:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
you always have great shots of your plants and blooms! I see a little birdie decided to get into the pictures!...was that a casting call?! hehe..
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 7:53:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Those are so lovely. :)
Thanks for sharing.
Kendra- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 9:54:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Things have been crazy around here.
I will try to post this weekend. :)
Thanks for caring.
Kendra- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 11:02:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
The first night bloom, and that last shot are my favorites. :)
They'd make nice cards! (wink)
Great shots, Naomi. Makes me want to run out and buy some cactus.
~S :)- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 11:28:00 AM PDT
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had this to say:
This is off topic, but I know you were in Spoon River Anthology on Broadway with Hal Lynch. You mentioned that you kept in touch with him. Wanted to let you know that Hal passed away this morning. He was much loved in his home town and will be missed by so many people. I had the pleasure of knowing him and of writing about him for the local paper. He was one of a kind.
If you would like to contact me my email is blackmon@alaweb.com- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 12:50:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Wow Naomi!! Some more of your lovely plants and flower family!! The birds are enjoying the treats I see!! Always amazes me as I learn more about the plants you have there. Thanks for another great post!
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 12:51:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Great shots - as always. Any idea what species the bird was? I didn't recognise it - not being an expert... [grin].
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 2:21:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Naomi, they are just beautiful, and the plants are so interesting in all their stages. Thanks for sharing your incredible garden with us.
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 4:49:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
I must say, you have THEE most unusual plants I've ever seen. That blossom is just gorgous and how nice it provides food for the birdies too.
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 4:53:00 PM PDT
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Very cool! My husband would love them!
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 5:26:00 PM PDT
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I love the unusual pattern on the limbs of this cactus and the delicate flowers. Beautiful!
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 5:55:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Amazing! Just amazing! I LOVE them -- all of them! But like you, I think I favor the pics with the birds -- I LOVE birds! I used to have a little cockatiel and she was precious! They DO love their fruit and vegetables! It's so much more fun though to watch them out in the wild as they were intended to be! GREAT work Naomi!
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 6:06:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
How I adore visiting you, dear Naomi!
- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 6:49:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
The blossoms are beautiful. I admire your beautiful garden.
It is interesting that I also have something called a Night Blooming Cereus, but mine has flat leaves and is of the Epiphyllum species. Both are lovely.
I love in the PAcific Northwest so my plant has to come indoors in the winter.
Thanks for sharing your photos. I do love them.- Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 10:50:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Seeing these pics of all your beautiful plants. I'm wondering if they would survive in East Tn weather climate?. :-). I sure would love having a few of them if they would. Have a Great Weekend!! :-).
- Friday, October 6, 2006 at 9:51:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
beautiful photographs. I can remember many times driving on the desert at night around Tucson and there would be this wonderful fragrance coming up a particular draw carried on the breezes. They have them in a botanical garden near where I have a home there and make a big deal when they will be expected to bloom-- for good reason.
- Friday, October 6, 2006 at 11:00:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
I am enchanted with your gorgeous garden, Naomi! I love so much desert's plants! The bird's photo is amazing! I think it's very difficult to take pictures of birds.
- Friday, October 6, 2006 at 11:04:00 AM PDT
- had this to say:
Those birds truly hit the mother lode!!!
What a feast!- Friday, October 6, 2006 at 2:11:00 PM PDT
- had this to say:
Absolutely spectacular! I love how you weave the story with the pictures and your love for the plants and birds and just everything shines through.
Reading your blog makes me happy. :)- Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 12:07:00 AM PDT
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