Massive Flowers Fit for Dragons? Here Is What You Need To Know
Summer Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Shine!”
Flowers fit for dragons shine bright.
We keep flowers fit for dragons in our backyard.
You have to walk down to the back of our yard at night, past the shed and lemon tree, to find them.
On the way, you might run into mosquitos, fat cane toads, and the occasional carpet python. These creatures make crappy companions, but Dragon fruit flowers are worth it.
Dragon fruit flowers are like lotus blossoms hopped-up on steroids. Stretch your hand out as wide as you can — each flower is bigger than that. Dragon fruit petals aren’t as soft or dense as a lotus petal though; they’re thin, wet, and ethereal.
Trekking to the flowers at night feels mystical. It’s like you’re in on some secret business that happens to take place near our chook yard in suburban Australia.
Each flower opens for one night. It withers by morning. Its short display amps up the magic and adds to the delight.
About four weeks after the flowers die, you get dragon eggs. By eggs, I mean hot pink fruit covered in green-tipped scales.
The fruit looks gorgeous, but I don’t like to eat it that much. It’s full of tiny black seeds, and the flavor is hard to pin down; it’s between a kiwi fruit, a pear, and a mild passionfruit.
A warning before you plant one: the dragon fruit plant is a jerk.
It’s a climbing cactus and bully who dreams of sunshine and world domination. Our neighbor left theirs unchecked for years. It morphed into a monster covered in prickles and weighing hundreds of kilos. It wrecked our chainlink fence, but I forgave it because when I see a dragon fruit flower, it lights a spark.
I’m pretty sure the spark is joy.
Not Marie Kondo decluttering joy; it’s better than that. It’s the type that cracks you open and leaves you glad and content for a moment in spite of mozzies buzzing in your ear.
Things that spark a light in you are easy to miss.
We walk past them because they don’t feed our insatiable thirst to be productive. By the time we look up from our apps, to-do lists and worries, the brief chance to ignite a spark is gone. It snuffs out before we’re ready.
If you see a flower fit for a dragon, stop and take a look. It’s worth it.
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