Flowers

Night Bloomer

In Jim’s Garden, there lurks a curious flower.

A beautiful, fascinating, slightly odd, super wonderful flower.

It lurks in the back of Mary’s Garden.  Back behind the jungle scene….  ???????????????????????????????

Tucked in behind the gloriosa daisy and sunflowers…  ???????????????????????????????

Way back, one the edge of Gourdtopia…  ???????????????????????????????

Blending in…  ???????????????????????????????

It stands tall in the afternoon sun…???????????????????????????????

And looks like it might just be dying.  ???????????????????????????????

But it is not dying.  It is thriving!  Therein lies the curious feature of this plant.

It is waiting.  Waiting for twilight.

It waits patiently while the sun lovers to have their day….  ???????????????????????????????

It waits while the afternoon sun fades into evening…  DSC07982

It perks up and sniffs the evening air as the glory of the dayDSC08024

fades into night….DSC08087

Then it blooms.???????????????????????????????

Oh my!  How it blooms…???????????????????????????????

It blooms the most beautiful yellow blooms…???????????????????????????????

Dozens of them, fresh and new, every night.???????????????????????????????

And as night falls in force, the blooms waft waves of a glorious, sweet fragrance across the yard, making night a most wonderful part of the day here in the garden.???????????????????????????????

The Evening Primrose.  Oenothera Lamarckiana.  A curious, fascinating, slightly odd, super wonderful member of the community In Jim’s Garden.

32 thoughts on “Night Bloomer”

  1. Great post! I was on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the way it progressed. Bravo!

    1. Thanks Catarzina. Thank you ver much. Sorry it took so long to reply. I’m looking forward to the rest of your Alaska pictures, now that I’m back in the blogosphere, so to speak, Have a great day. See you at your blog. 🙂

  2. We should all bloom so well, and smell so well, as darkness descends…

    1. Indeed! The world would be, at minimum, a very different place. Better perhaps, but different for sure. Thanks for that fine vision. 🙂

  3. I love this nigh bloomer post! the evening primrose is so beautiful. Thank you, Jim!
    Happy Friday 🙂

  4. Gorgeous post for a gorgeous flower. Ain’t it the truth for people, also…. We all bloom in our own time in our own way…..

    1. All in our own time all in our own way. But bloom we must. And what a curious wildflower garden that makes! 🙂

    1. Yes, this flower is quite the individualist. Just gonna do it her way. Now, as for that yard envy, why I suppose you just need to till up some grass, cast about some wildflower seeds and make your little piece of Texas bloom. Yep! That’s the way. 🙂

    1. Thanks Cynthia. This specimen came here as a seed, planted on May 19, 2013 as part of a ‘partial shade’ mix of wildflowers. It didn’t do much the first year. Indeed, none of that mix did much. The ‘partial shade’ was really ‘full shade’ due to the presence of a way overgrown privet hedge. This year the primrose came back, being the only thing from that mix which survived the crazy winter. But it came back to full sun, as the bush had been banished. So, to answer your question, either 14 months from seed, or since it poked its head back out after winter. It has been a surprising and wonderful addition to the garden this year. I didn’t know what it was until it commenced its nightly blooming trick. 🙂

  8. Such wonderful gardens!! Are you out in the country? I’m afraid my little garden is all potted plants since I don’t have a yard. 😦 However when we lived elsewhere I had an Evening Primrose as well. Took me a long time to figure out what it was since it was planted before we moved in. Beautiful blog, I look forward to following along!

    1. Thank you very much. I look forward to you following along. 🙂 We’re more on the edge of town than out in the country, but we have plenty of room and a real country feel. Convenient ands rustic. The evening primrose is a really cool plant. I’m glad you have had the chance to experience it. I’m impressed if you can keep a potted plant garden going. I find container gardening to be a challenge and am always amazed at what people can do on that count. See you soon, so to speak. 🙂

    1. Thanks. She’s tricky to photograph, what with the fading light and all. But I felt like the photos did her justice. I think the close-ups were taken in the morning, with a little better light. Cheers. 🙂

    1. Merci. The jungle is really growing this year. Eden? Well, I thought of several fun replies to say “Oh no, can’t be like Eden.” Like, the fact that our little green apples are really only fit for the deer and would never represent human temptation. Or maybe, the fact that our cats chase away all the snakes. But, you know, the weather has been so unbelievably, wonderfully gorgeous (tres beau) this summer, that I’m beginning to think it really might be like Eden. I wish it would be like this every summer. Then again, nobody though we were in Eden last winter. Cheers. Bonne journee, Christiane. 🙂

  11. Y’know, I’ve heard of Evening Primrose but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen them or at least noticed them. Fragrant? I’m starting a list for when I have more sun.

    1. Yes, quite fragrant. Sweetly odorific, you might say. One of these days you are gonna be called ‘Sunny Character.’ I can’t wait to see your gardens then. Have a great day Grower.

  12. Great plant that I should add to my garden. A former neighbor would have evening primrose parties; we would all stand in the garden with some homemade beer from her husband and watch the primrose flowers pop open in her garden. That’s a real gardener’s party 🙂

    1. Home brew and primrose. Now that sounds like my kind of party. It bet it was fun, if your mind is tuned that way. They do rather ‘pop open,’ don’t they? 🙂

    1. Utopia? Only in my dreams. But Gourdtopia – now that is happening. Please check back in tomorrow for more information on that magical place. Cheers. Thanks for reading and thanks for commenting. 🙂

  14. A compelling presentation and so very fun. Beautiful, prolific flower in the nighttime! Also, I love the term “Gourdtopia.” 🙂

    1. Thanks Jet. You are cracking me up! Please check my next post (hopefully tomorrow’s post) which I’m calling Gourdtopia. Its a crazy scene out there nowadays. Have a wonderful day. 🙂

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