By day, the giant eveningstar plant looks decidedly
tall and weedy, definitely not an attractive subject for any objective
photographer. The eveningstars thrive
where nothing else can survive: on the shale cuts along roadways, along the
stony railroad beds, and clinging to sunbaked embankments. By day, the plants garner no particular
attention; but come August, the giant eveningstars begin to open their flowers
each night just as the sun sinks into the western mountains. Big as a child’s hand, the flowers come alive
in the darkness with a lovely splay of soft-white petals and a bright yellow pyrotechnic
explosion at the center. The flowers
fill the surrounding air with a conspicuously sweet-chemical scent.
The ugly duckling becomes swan.
On my way home following dinner at Canyon Ferry with
my cousins, I stopped to admire the flowers.
I have posted a couple of pictures.
--Mitchell
Hegman
I have clear memories of mom and dad pulling over on the way home from Papa's and picking these flowers from the side of the road. They would let Tad and I pin them to our shirts.
ReplyDeleteDo they still bloom in September?
ReplyDeleteThey are gone in a few short weeks...
Delete