Horticultural moment

Isn't it lovely? This particular blossom was a gift from an old friend. He's really into plants and gardening, and bred this one as a hybrid from vines my mother had given him years ago.

Passion flowers (passiflora incarnata, for the horticulturally educated) are very much tropical plants, and supposedly almost impossible to grow outdoors in this region. But they grew like kudzu on the side of our house when I was growing up. Every fall, they'd wilt and die with the first frost; and every spring they'd appear again, growing so fast you could almost see the vines' tendrils stretching and curling.

Partway through the summer the flowers would appear. We'd pick the blossoms by the handful, and float them in a glass bowl on the kitchen table. They were fragile, and only lasted a day or two; but that was okay. There were always plenty more growing to replenish the bowl.

The flower's common name comes from the Passion of our Lord; you can find an explanation here.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled random musings.