Aerangis punctata

Orchids (or any plants) that only bloom once a year are a rare and special treat.



This is Aerangis punctata, a diminutive little orchid that is one of my favorites.  For a few days each fall, it graces my life with these pretty little flowers and their amazing fragrance.

Easter in September

Well, first I had Easter in July, and now I have Easter in September.



This is one of two pots of Easter lilies that I got from the clearance rack in the week after Easter, just because they're so pretty and I love the way they smell. The original stems that came in the pots bloomed continuously until well into May, giving me 24 flowers.

They lived on my deck all summer with the amaryllis, and put out another flush of stems after the initial lot died back.  Today the first of 19 buds from those new shoots opened.  Beautiful!

Amazing

The Echinopsis subdenudata bloomed today!



Such an amazing flower for a small plant. The plant is three inches in diameter, the flower stalk is six inches tall, and the flower itself is three inches in diameter.



I love the star shaped stigma, surrounded by the ring of anthers and filaments.



Such a cool sight.  Plus, it's fragrant.  When I woke up this morning, I could smell its sweetness from my bedroom on the other side of the house.

A quick note

I have a couple cacti in bud right now, but this one is the closest to blooming. This is Echinopsis subdenudata, a first bloomer for me, and one of the flower buds is getting hugely tall!  It's a night-blooming species, and I'm thinking that tonight or tomorrow may be the night.



Also of note today is my Hoya subcalva cutting that I got off eBay in July.  It rooted within the first week after I stuck it in the pot (yay!) and then pretty much sat there looking exactly the same for two months.



But yesterday, I noticed that there is a new growth starting!  Hurrah!

Red Lion amaryllis

The first amaryllis of the 2016/2017 season is blooming!

The color on these flowers is a little paler than usual because the scape developed in warm weather.  But the stem and leaves are good and strong, with more leaves still developing.  I should get another scape from this bulb later this winter.



This is the 2008 Red Lion bulb, which was a Christmas present from my Dad.  This is its ninth blooming for me.



Amaryllis are such great plants.

Lifesaver plant

Here's a weird one for you: Huernia zebrina, the lifesaver plant.  This is the first bloom for me.



So named because of the round shiny annulus in the center of the flower, as you can see.  This is a succulent plant in the Stapeliae tribe, within the larger family containing milkweed and hoya and stephanotis (what a varied group!).

It looks like a cactus, but it's not prickly.  It forms low clumps and creeps along the surface. The flowers are so thick and waxy that they look and feel like plastic, with amazing vibrant colors.

This group is pollinated by flies.  Many stapeliads smell like carrion to attract them, though this particular species is relatively unscented.  In fact, I haven't noticed any smell at all.  Even if it does develop, the flower is cool enough for me to put up with a little stink.

Bees

Since it's been so dry recently, I decided to make a bee waterer.  It's just a shallow lid with some gravel in the deeper spots, filled with a little water.  Very complicated and high tech.



I put it out on the patio next to my 'Autumn Joy' sedum, which is just coming into bloom, and this afternoon the bees are going NUTSO for it.