The Lack of Sleep and a Thing of Beauty!

   A few years ago, my brother gave me a piece of a plant that he had on his front porch.  He said that it was there when he moved into the house.  The home used to be our grandparents' place and I do recall there being a lot of plants there when our grandparents were alive.  The plant was a cactus of sorts and greatly resembled the Night Blooming Cereus that I had (from the same grandparents).  He said that his plant had never bloomed to his knowledge even though it was about 30 years old.  Hmm...well, it was still interesting so I gladly took my "leaf" home to root.  The cutting did well and soon became a huge plant that I lugged in and out of the greenhouse to protect.  I was happy with the night "non-blooming" cereus just because it was an interesting cactus.  Whereas the other cereus plant leaves were flat, these start out triangular and then flatten.  Such an odd addition to my "rainforest".

  Well, now three years after the gift of a cutting, the cactus decided it was time to bloom!  Last night, I stayed up far too late for this old lady just so I could view (and photograph) the bloom.  Needless to say, that 4am rising time came before I was ready but Bat, the cat, thought otherwise.  Happily, the bloom was still open although a bit weary itself.  I smiled as I stepped out the French doors before dawn.  Seeing that single flower well made up for the lack of sleep.

  Now comes the bit of studying time to find out exactly what type of night-blooming cactus this is.  There are so many different types out there!  Having the triangular stems (leaves) and the smaller bloom should help in the research.  Also, rooting more has become a priority!  

The Bayou Orchid

  Back in March, Mark came home from the lumberyard with an orchid plant.  He had no idea exactly what it was and I had no idea how to care for it.  From what I had heard, orchids were some of those fickle plants that needed to be treated with "kid-gloves".  My idea was that they were not "Bayou" enough to ever call the place home but now one was here.  I had good intentions of learning the "art of orchid growing" but, instead, I plopped the plant on the herb tower and promptly forgot to do any research.  The plant was pretty much on its own.  It got watered when the herbs were watered and fed when they were fed.  It stayed in full shade between the basil plants.  Every time I passed the poor thing, I thought of how I really should figure out how to tend its needs.  I never did.  When the plant arrived here, it had four or five blooms on a towering stalk held up by a tiny (6 inch) trellis.  It was in a small pot that was inserted into a ceramic bowl that had no drainage.  The bowl was removed, the plant was plopped into a larger pot with mulch.  That was it.  That was as far as I got.

  Now, five months later, the orchid is still blooming.  It has never stopped.  When one flower withers, it is replaced with another.  The plant seems to have adapted well to its surroundings regardless of the lack of attention.  Several times, I offered the plant to Darling Daughter thinking it would receive so much better care with her.  She always declines saying "You are doing amazing with it, Mom!"  Nope...the plant is doing amazing on its own...I am doing nothing...and the orchid blooms...and blooms.  Regardless of the neglect.  I suppose it truly is a Bayou Orchid now.