I don't know why I get so excited to see my dragon fruit cactus flower, but I do! Tonight's the night! I got home from work and went around to check the garden, harvest any ripe tomatoes and check on the progress of the bud.
It was opening up, so I grabbed my camera! They only bloom one night, and then by morning, they are gone! Shriveling down to nothing, and just hanging there limply. It is hard to imagine when looking at it the next morning that just a few hours before it was so pretty and full.
While I was out there trying to snap some pics (you should see all the ones that came out very, very blurry!) my neighbor dropped by to give me a slice of Watergate Cake that she had baked. I made asked her to come around to see this wondrous sight!
(I tried to google Watergate Cake to try to find a picture similar to her cake, but none of them compared! Her's was a double layer and very prettily decorated. So, if you are not familiar with that cake, I will have to leave you to google it yourself. You'll get the idea! Pistachios, coconut, green, yummy.)
I was just wishing I had some help in getting some pics to share! I wanted to show the size of this thing in comparison to something so you could get an idea of how huge they are! I was just looking around for something when she called out! Yayyy! That's her hand and key in the photo.
When you put your finger down into the anthers and filaments, you would expect to feel something, but they are soooooooo soft, you can barely feel them at all! When you shake the flower a bit, they jiggle all over the place. For a flower that big, you would expect an equally big scent, but they do not have a floral smell at all! There is definitely a scent when you get your nose in there, but it is more herbal. It is not unpleasant, but I don't expect to see it at the fragrance counters any time soon!
Now we wait for the fruit to form! :-) Thanks again for the cactus, Trang!
By the way, the cake was de-licious! Yummm! It was a very big piece! I thought I would eat half now and save the other half for tomorrow . . . but . . . . we-e-ell . . . it all adds up to the same amount of calories anyway, whether I split them up or not . . . right? ? ? ;-) Oh . . . whooops, I should have gotten a pic of it to share with you! My bad! It was as pretty as it was tasty! . . . Actually, maybe it's a good thing I didn't think to snap a quick pic . . . that way you can't see just how big a little piggy I just was! Thank you, J!
Well, that's it for now, I was so excited to see the bloom, I just wanted to share! I need to go into my sugar coma now. ;-) See you later!
oh WOW that's HUUUUUGE!!! I had no idea what a dragon fruit flower looked like - it's beautiful! I adore dragon fruit! It's so expensive, but sometimes I get one when they're down to $5 each, and treat myself. There's nothing quite like them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping in and saying hi - and yes you should have a try at drawing with your opposite hand, makes you really look at what you're doing. The class I did, from memory, was not much, like $7 or something silly cheap, and we tipped the model. (tipping is rather unusual over here in Australia though!)
Thanks for dropping by, Natasha! I anxious to pick up the old pencil again! Hopefully, soon!
ReplyDeleteThe dragon fruit flower is very beautiful . Last night, i did take a picture of my cute dragon fruit flower...I will share it to you soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Trang! Your son is a very good photographer! I loved your photo!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's lovely.:-) Hugs Stina
ReplyDeleteHi Daughter! My dragon fruit plant is doing well..doubt I will ever get a flower or fruit as I have to bring it in during the winter...gets cold here in Iowa, you know!!!! But the fruit you brought to us when we were in Arizona was delicious! Enjoy...all you guys in the warm country...it's been HOT here also, but winter's soon on it's way, tho I love winters also! Mom
ReplyDeleteThanks, mom! I hope your cactus does bloom for you one of these days! Maybe you'll be able to get it inside intact and then back out next year all in one piece and it will bloom for you next year!
ReplyDeleteStina, thanks so much for dropping by! :-)
That is so beautiful! I have read about those flowers before and I just love the idea of catching a flower for such a short time. Thanks for sharing it! (now I need to search for info about that cake....)
ReplyDeleteHello, Catherine! Thanks for stopping by! I'll have to ask my neighbor for the recipe she used and if I can make it look half as good as she did I'll try to share pics and the recipe one of these days!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen anything like that before Sherrill. I too would have grabbed the camera. It really is that short lived? Incredible. Thanks for sharing it's a beauty.
ReplyDeleteLots of hugs, Rosemary...xx
Yep, they start opening up at dusk and by morning they are limp as a wet dishrag! I'll share an after pic soon! Thanks for dropping by, Rosemary!
ReplyDeleteWow! It is such a beautiful bloom. Thanks for dropping over at my place. I really get so excited. Cheers SpecialK
ReplyDeleteHug from me.:-) Stina
ReplyDeleteI love that you were not only able to see the bloom but took the time to share it with us. I'd never seen one before:-)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to exploring your site
Linda
Hi, Linda! Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment! I hope you find some of my other posts interesting and that you will stop by again! :-)
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