Königin der Nacht

So you may wonder wtf is "Koenigin der Nacht"? Besides an important character that sings two incredible arias in Mozart's opera  Die Zauberfloete, it is the nickname I have given one of my cacti. En Espanol, it is La Reina de la Noche. The queen of the night was started from seed in 2004. The packet of seed was nothing more remarkable than a mixed cactus seed packet. Used to be I was not a big fan of cacti or succulents. That all changed when I realized how easy it was to grow them from seed, and that outdoors with minimal care during summer months the perform famously. To find the seedling in the picture, it is the smallest cactus visible. It is easy to miss - if I can find better pictures I will post. This is the first season after growing (2005).

While on this picture it might be good to describe some of the plants. Only a few pictured are extant at time of writing. The Agave americana has long been gone: it was allowed to freeze after growing too big to move in and out-of-doors. Succulents I always find much more challenging than cacti. Likely too much water, too humid, not poor enough potting soil, or just gross negligence of care (or overcare?).

Moving along and growing at a cliche speed of leaps and bounds, the Cereus hildmannianus, I suspect in name, is both grower AND shower in here. It is so succulent, towering, and bluish green.

A couple of years later a cluster of angelic, pure, silken white flowers appear. Petals have a sugary and delicious look not unlike rich buttercream frosting flowers. They only last the night. After sundown they begin to open, by morning they are fully open, but just a few hours into early morning, they have withered away. Bees seem mad and extremely frustrated that they have missed yet again, the opportunity of a lifetime as observed when they cannot enter the floral structures.  Vanity, greed, and tragedy is the floral aria sung by the Queen of the Night. Almost because of her magnificent beauty the flowers are either embarrassed and don't want to be noticed, or embarrassed that they are so beautiful and do not want to be seen with the cactus they bloom from, or just so proud and haughty that nothing can have them. But the beauty is in simplicity: there is mystery and irony to this dark time when sounds sound different, smells smell different, and the stars peer down with watchful eye on all the sleepers to see them through the night to the next day. Maybe the Queen of the Night is an evil temptress? Everything is naturally more mystical when the sun cannot shine and reveal the vices and iniquities of our world.