Bonzer Words!: Beauty
Elaine Lutton tells of a garden "miracle''.
Elaine writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
We have a Miracle of Beauty at the bottom of our garden. Utterly stunning!
For most of the year we have an ugly-looking spiky caterpillar-like cactus that is supported by an elderly coastal banksia tree that struggles to maintain its burden. However in the summer the cactus blooms once, twice, maybe three times a year. The buds develop over a couple of weeks until it looks as if the cactus is covered with erect candles. The blooms begin to come out just after dark, each having diaphanous white petals that glow in the darkness whilst the centre is crowded with yellow stamens and a complex stigma/style.
This last flowering we counted more than two hundred blossoms, each one as big as a man's hand. The show is spectacular but brief; they stay with us for no more than two hours after dawn attracting bees, both native and honey, by the pollen and perfume before drooping and fading. After pollination, a red succulent fruit develops that can be eaten or used in drinks.
Scientifically our miracle originally comes from Vietnam and is known as a Dragon Fruit Cactus or Hylocereus undatus but how it came to grow at the bottom of our yard is a complete mystery.
© Elaine Lutton
