My wise old grandmother had the most beautiful yard and gardens, although I have to give myself a little credit because I’m the one who mowed the yard and trimmed the trees and bushes. THAT is why I have never had a grass yard that needed mowing and never had trees and bushes that needed trimming. Whatever is in my yard and gardens gets to grow until it can grow no more.
One of my wise old grandmother’s hanging baskets had a plant in it that I really didn’t like. The plant had no leaves, and its stems and branches were flat. It just looked weird to this 12-year-old, one who was not weird himself, yet.
However, it didn’t need water, fertilizer, or pruning. It simply existed in its hanging basket. So THAT was a plus.
Then one day it bloomed.
I was a fan forever.
The plant is more on the expensive side, so I have never had one. However, when my employee, Julian, and his mom moved last summer, his mom asked me if I wanted any of the plants. ANY? Does ALL count as ANY?
Two of the plants she had were the odd-looking plant that my wise old grandmother had. Yesterday, one of them bloomed. Looks like this:
That is the flower of an epiphyllum, common name orchid cactus. The flower is about nine inches in diameter. It’s huge! And it’s purple, which was my wise old grandmother’s favorite color.
My wise old grandmother died in June 2003, but I do believe she has come to visit me in my garden. I shall name my epiphyllum Mary since that was my wise old grandmother’s name. You thought her name was “my wise old grandmother,” didn’t you? Nope.
Mary Agnes Hartmann Kirk, this epiphyllum is for you, and for wise old grandmothers everywhere!
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Very sweet!
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What a wonderful tribute to your wise old Grandmother, I am sure she is taking care of your Orchid cactus and letting you know how much all your hard work was appreciated.
I know this is true because I am a wise old Grandmother :o)…….
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I hope you have lots of Russel Rays runnin’ around! I suspect you do.
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That is one pretty flower!
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This is such a beautiful story😃
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What a lovely post and I believe your grandmother visited you.
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Now if I can just get her to sit down, relax, and have a margarita with me!……..LOL
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Lovely. 🙂
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Cheers to wise old Grandmothers! I hope my grandson remembers me in the same way!
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I have this feeling that he will!
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Reblogged this on oshriradhekrishnabole and commented:
we call this flower ‘jasone ‘ a lucky for divne
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It is beautiful! 🙂
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sweet post, lovely flower
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That definitely counts as a grandmother’s long distance smile and a wave.
(orphan plants! Glad they are home now.
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My friends know that their plants always have a home here if necessary.
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A lovely commemoration to your wise old grandmother Russel!
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Epiphyllum blooms are so striking, aren’t they. They are easily multipled, too.
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Yep. I have several cuttings that have rooted and need to be planted.
There is another purple blossom ready to bloom. In fact, it’s blooming right now! In another couple of hours it should be fully open.
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Nice!
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Beautiful flower and wonderful tribute to someone who had a profound affect on your life. I’m getting rid of my grass too.
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It’s funny that my wise old grandmother had so much grass, but if I played in the grass and got grass stains on my clothes, she was not happy………LOL
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Women! You can’t win with them. 🙂
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I remember my mum having hanging baskets with those same plants in them 😊 the flower is beautiful x
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They do look spectacular in hanging baskets. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has a huge collection of them in hanging baskets.
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