One would be hard pressed to look at the photographs of these flowers and connect them to the gangly cactus-like plant in the bottom photograph, but this is a Night-Blooming Cereus. Another of Clayton’s finds. It is currently living on the breezeway so it doesn’t get too much sun and so it can be tied in place. Otherwise the weight of the plant would cause it topple over. This past winter it sent out long shoots that extended from one room to another – at least eight feet of growth. Now it is producing amazingly fragrant and showy flowers which, as the name suggests, only bloom at night. The middle photo was taken at 8:45 p.m., while the top one was taken two hours later. Twelve hours later the flower had wilted. If you look closely there are still three flowers to open: one at the top middle, and two on the left side, middle. Yet again it is the fragrance that catches my breath. Yet the beauty of the flowers is startling as well. Again, look closely and you can see a flower within the flower, perhaps to make pollinating easy.
These treats which Clayton has carefully placed throughout the property demonstrate his holistic concept in maintaining beauty around him.