A Cereus Showdown

The last two nights have been exciting.  Wednesday night I had THREE night blooming cereus blossoms open.  I stayed up until midnight watching them and walking past them to stir the air so I could smell their beautiful fragrance.

I've had this plant for quite a few years now, maybe ten.  In the early years it was just a big unwieldy plant.  When I moved it out in too much sun, even if I did it gradually, it sunburned horribly...but in the hot sun it finally started blooming.  Just one bloom a year or two in a big year.

The sun burning really bothered me, but if I moved it to a less sunny location it didn't bloom.  This year I built it a lattice shade.  That's the weird contraption in the earlier month end compilations.  It apparently loves it.  Just the right amount of sun without the blistered leaves.  

I had two more blooms last night and there are at least seven more starting!  

But wait, there's more!

I was gifted a moon flower seedling this spring.  I'd seen pictures of the giant flowers and decided to create a safe space to grow one here.  The plants are highly poisonous and while there is plenty else to eat around here, we all know one danger lamb who'd grab a pretty flower just to be a brat...  Most of the fence around the Wool House it to stop the chickens from tearing all my flowers up.  The moon flower fence is to keep "honest sheep honest" ;-).

Last night it bloomed for the first time.  Two blooms.  Over six inches across.  And less than six feet away, the two cereus blossoms.  It was a night time showdown!

I'll give the moon flower points for opening up early, by 9:00, and it's still open this morning.  The blooms are gorgeous.

I'll give the cereus points for being even "extra" and the fragrance...oh, the fragrance.  This time of the year it takes until almost midnight to fully open though.  Midnight is past my bedtime ;-).

So...it's a tie.  Two gold medals.  Or with their color, I guess they'd be silver.

 Here's the moon flower as it was starting to open yesterday late afternoon.  It's probably eight inches from the green bottom to the top flair.  I have several more buds so the show will go on :-).