Carpe diem!

Sieze the day!

By the front door of the house, is a mounted picture.  It is one of the first things we see on our way to breakfast and on our way out the front door to begin our day.  Depicted in this picture is what has inspired how I've lived my life since 1989, the year I experienced John Keating teach at Welton Academy.  This was made into a movie entitled Dead Poets Society.  This masterpiece from Peter Weir became an Oscars favorite in the 1989 Academy Awards.

Anyone who has seen the movie would probably remember Professor Keating encouraging his students to seize the day.  "Carpe diem lads, seize the day, make your lives extraordinary!" he told his students.

Somewhere in my garden grows a mysterious plant called "Queen of the Night" or Epiphyllum oxypetalum.  It is a cactus with the habit of an orchid.  It's origin is unknown.  Some say it came from Sri Lanka and some say South America.  It rarely flowers and when it flowers it only does so at night.  The flowers are large and produce one of the most fragrant smells in the plant kingdom. By sunrise the flowers wither. 

Flowers have started to wither by sunrise.

To fully appreciate this plant, one has to wake up at dawn in order to see the beautiful flowers and smell the amazing fragrance but this opportunity rarely occurs and when it does the window is just too short.

Don't miss your rare chance to be with this queen.  Carpe diem!  Seize the day!

Or is it seize the night?

Comments

[Solitude Rising]

I assume you waited the whole night to wait for the flower to open up? Your vigilance is rewarded, the bloom is simply beautiful. Now if only cameras could capture the smell also...LOL

[The Plant Chaser]

. . . and if only smells could be shared through the world wide web. :-D

[Bernieh]

It's an exquisite bloom. Obviously you must have been up before dawn to capture this beauty and share it with us. If only you could share the perfume somehow!

[The Plant Chaser]

I really wish I could. The scent can be overwhelming up close but spreads out in the air and if is like someone sprayed perfume all around. My plant is about 10 feet away from our bedroom window and my wife could smell its fragrance even inside.

[Donna]

I would get up early for that beauty. It is so unique and I love the your last image, it pretty much says it all.

[The Plant Chaser]

That's what I did, Donna. Get up early everyday as soon as the bud showed itself. They say there are no indicators of when it will bloom. If one is not careful, you will just wake to find the flower on the ground.

[noel]

aloha bom,

lovely post, the combination story and tie in to the epiphylum is great, i love that plant, it grows everywhere here and yes when they bloom, they are spectacular!

[The Plant Chaser]

Thanks Noel. Do they all bloom at the same time? That would really be spectacular.

[Lrong]

I have yet to try growing this plant... but then, I am such an early sleeper...

[andrea]

Wow, so that is the name of that plant! Our nearest neighbor has it but slightly pink and is planted on the ground. The flowers are very visible near our kitchen window, but i cant seem to time my visit for its blooming. I have lots of photos of the unopened blooms. Maybe it is larger than yours. BTW, the Dead Poet Society movie is a favorite too.

[Kala]

Wonderful post. Seize the moment!

[Autumn Belle]

I remember the show and I also like the character as potrayed by Robin Williams. Your beautiful flower looks like the cactus bloom (night blooming cereus) we had when I was little. I can imagine how special this flower is - the scent and shape, each time it blooms. Eventhough the moment is brief, it is good to have and to hold.

[The Plant Chaser]

@ Lrong: Early to bed, early to rise? I woke up early to catch it instead of staying up the night to wait.


@ Andrea: There seems to be no sign about when exactly it will bloom. I just wake up early everyday once the bud appears.


@ Kala: Thanks!


@ Autumn Belle: Maybe you should try growing it again.

[Stephanie]

Gorgeous! The window is really too short. But I am glad you snapped nice good shots of the flower :-D

[The Plant Chaser]

Thanks Stephanie! I think I could have gotten better shots if I had gotten up earlier.

[Steve Asbell]

Gorgeous epiphyllum photos! The epiphyllums all come from Latin America, as do all other proper cacti. According to Henry Nehrling, they resided on just about every front porch in Florida during the first half of the century and were seen as commonplace and ordinary, kind of like boston ferns are today. Many of the plants people own were passed along from generation to generation over the course of decades!

[The Plant Chaser]

Steve, that must have been amazing if they all bloomed together. I can just imagine the scent that would have filled the air.

[islandgal246]

Mine opened a few nights ago with two nights of blooms. I cut two flowers and put them in a zip loc and place them in the refrigerator. They remain open for several days so I can show to friends. They keep their scent as well.