Flower Power

Last Summer, I observed that the football-shaped buds of the Queen of the Night appeared to open on the day that they reached a certain length. I got all scientific about it, measuring the length of several buds day after day and, blah blah, I now have a little chart that I can hold up next to a flower bud that tells me how many days before that bud will explode into one of these amazing blooms.

The heat wave early in the month triggered the formation of this Summer's first wave of flower buds. So, I got out the chart and determined that they'd bloom around June 27...

Powerful. That's one year, exactly, from the day Dad died. What wonderful timing for Mom and me to have this explosion of life on such an important date.

We have had such enjoyable times around these Summer flowers. These flowers had, since they first bloomed in 2003, been something to share with others. Last Summer was no exception. By word of mouth (okay, and a huge sign I stuck on the lawn, days in advance), people came from blocks away, even from nearby cities; people brought over guests who were visiting them, just to find out what this thing was. The flower became a point of connection, a place for community of friends and strangers who would become friends. It made for long evenings for Mom and me, but we loved it; we loved being with others who wanted to share some new adventure and drink in this wonderful flower.

And that's what we set in motion again this year. The sign was far smaller: "Night-blooming flowers blooming soon! See phoons.com/news". And it did the trick. It was good to see faces from last year and to see new faces, people who'd seen the sign and were just curious (good for them! and they were rewarded!).

It was tough to narrow down an evening's worth of photos. "Do I show the photo with the most people? Show how people are clustered in groups, talking about whatever they enjoy talking about at the moment? Show the variety of people studying and smelling the flower?" I settled on this one that included Mom zipping about, joyfully offering cookies and tea.

The power of a flower. A reason for community, relationships, celebration, life.