Night blooming cereus

  photo, Diane Carnevale

Yesterday was an unusual day. First I got an e-mail from a Boston Globe reporter asking about my recent trip to the MFA's Chihuly show and my huge, one dollar donation to help acquire one of the pieces (story here). Then, some time after 9 PM I got an e-mail from some friends to get over there ASAP and see their night blooming cereus plant. Armed with cameras and a flashlight, we trekked to their back yard, the darkness adding to the drama. Elissa Della-Piana (owner and curator of the Gallery Della-Piana) and her daughter Harper (a local bridal couturier and owner of Seams) were very proud to share this magical, once-a-year event with me, and told me of other encounters they've had with the mysterious cereus blossoms in tropical places like Bermuda and Hawaii. The blossom was absolutely magnificent and had the most heavenly aroma, but the blossom only lasts for one day! We toasted the occasion with a glass of their delicious homemade limoncello, then I drove home slowly because, in true eccentric fashion, I had driven over in my kimono bathrobe. That may have been difficult to explain to the local police had I been pulled over.