Its All About Nature!!!

Hey friends! Sometimes don't you wonder how exactly Nature works?! How does a very small seed grows into such a huge tree? How does a bud (which seems to suddenly grow on some part of the plant, most of the times between many leaves ) grows and turns into such beautiful flower? How each fruit gets its distinctive color? How does the fruit smell so pleasant? How does it have distinctive aroma? And these questions just go on continuing without an END. People say its all about Nature. And also creation of god. Some say Nature is God and others God is nature. I am not sure about this puzzle but whoever created such beauties takes a bow from me. I experienced a situation which left me with my mouth opened. I was speechless. I could feel the aroma spreading into the whole room and then into my hall. My mom nurtured it with water everyday. With intense love and care, my mom used to put vegetable peels and fertilizer. Yes!! You got me right. I am talking about a plant. Hmm.. Before explaining my experience let me tell you which plant it is and what is or rather *are* its specialties.

Brahmakamal or Queen Of The Night or Epiphyllum Oxypetalum. As the picture shows its pure white in color. It has a very pleasant fragrance. The plant comes from a cactus family. The buds of the flower arises from the leaves. The flower blooms once in a year. Not only that! It blooms ONLY at night. The color of its fruit is purplish-red.



So What exactly happened was that one beautiful morning when I woke up, to my surprise, I could see a few buds on some leaves of my plant. From that day I used to watch the plant carefully. And to my dismay, each day a bud used to fall off. And finally there wasn't any buds left but one. And then I had to satisfy myself with the only bud and, as usual, started watching it carefully everyday, though it was my mum who used to water it. It grew everyday to certain extent. And for me, who never saw any plant like that, it was an excitement.


Days past... And the bud grew into a larger bud.


And guess what!?!? One morning suddenly the bud opened a little. I thought, till tomorrow night, the flower will fully bloom. But, as I had no idea about the plant at all, the flower started blooming the same day and at night it fully bloomed. The fragrance spread into my room. And I was enjoying the feeling.


While getting onto the bed, I had a final glimpse of the flower. Next morning, something unexpected happened. The flower withered. I was regretting to have not seen it bloom. But then I thought there are few more buds which will bloom.



PS: I got the information about the the plant in detail after all this happened. I switched on my laptop and started reading about it the very next morning. It was then I got to know that the blooming of the flowers is an annual phenomena. And the buds, which have grown now, with fall off and its only in the year 2010 i will be able to watch the beauty.

Hopefully next time I can watch it bloom.