I went to see the Night Blooming Cereus plants a couple of weeks ago. I've seen them on the news in the past and always thought it would be fun to go - but it wasn't until a friend called with an impromptu invitation that I actually went. What made this so interesting is that they normally bloom only once a year - but at the garden we went to, this was their second blooming of the year - a very odd thing. And, from seeing this on the news, I always thought there was one plant that everyone gathered around and looked at. It turns out, there are many, many plants out there and the paths were all lit up to go see them all. During most of the year, they just look like ugly sticks, but, during this one night (OK, two this year!), they turn into beautiful flowers. I am definitely taking the family next year. Not only is it really fun to see these plants, I didn't get home until 11:30 - wouldn't they just love staying that far up past their bedtime!?!
We have this giant mesquite tree in front of our house. Actually, we have two mesquite trees, it's just the smaller of the two has been replaced due to the first being broken in a summer storm, and has never caught up to the giant one. The one that gives us enough mesquite beans to feed our entire neighborhood (yes - you can eat these things!). So, about half way through June, our yard starts looking like snow in summer, but upon closer inspection, it's discovered that the mequite beans are falling and it's time for the kids to get out and pick them up. I'm mean, I want a 5 gallon bucket picked up every day. Whining, groaning, and moaning ensues. Tears, fighting, and grouchiness are accompanied by the hot summer mornings that mean the yard is getting cleaned up. In the end, the yard looks great. But the kids continually live in fear of NEXT summer. Poor things - someday they will tell their psychiatrists about their summer memories, not of swimming pools and barbeques, but of buckets of mesquite beans and sweaty summer mornings!
