Epiphyllum oxypetalum Brahma Kamala ब्रम्ह कमल/ब्रम्हकमळ rooted cutting arrived !

                                       ............ and so it continued to rain ....

                                              ...... and rain ......

                                ........ and rain on the cocoa powder fields ......
                           

I had another dentist appointment in Truro at 2pm....just the hygienist and she's very nice ...so we were just dithering about really , this gloomy old morning and keeping an eye on the time .

 Great excitement ! The postman arrived with a parcel ! It was the Epiphyllum rooted cutting that I,d bought from a lady on Ebay for a sensible price !
 I have been trying to find this to add to my collection for a very long time .

 I took it out of the wrappers straight away and off to the wood shed , where I potted it up in the finest compost and perlite .
It originates from South America , but is now found in many places with similar climate .
   It has many different names.....Beauty under the Moon ......Star of Bethlehem....Queen of the Night ....but the one I love is is the one it is known by in India ....Brahma Kamala . It is named after the Hindu God of Creation .
     It is believed that the wishes of people who pray to God while the flowers are blooming will be fulfilled .
 The beautiful and fragrant flower is creamy white and only blooms once a year .
 The bud begins to open during the late evening , fully open it is between 8" and 10" wide . It sadly begins to fade away at dawn .

  Considered a Sacred plant , it is said , that it should only be given as a gift .

 I did have to buy mine ...  sigh .....oh well ...it didn't cost me very much .
When it becomes bigger I will take cuttings and gift them and hopefully that will make it alright .

        Oh ! Here's my Birdie Girl ..hopping in to ask for a grape ......

              She sits and makes little peeping noises until I give her a grape  .
If I leave the fruit bowl in the kitchen , she will come right in and help herself !

                                                Happy Birdie Girl ! 

I carefully carried my Epiphyllum oxypetalum Brahma kamala baby up to the North facing window-sill at the top of the stairs . This is where I usually start off my Epie cuttings and get the best results . I haven't given it too much water , in fact hardly any, it will have just the moisture from the compost as it comes from the bag...those are rain drops from Heaven as I carried it in from the woodshed .
  The lovely hand-painted cup is a charity shop treasure  . I just couldn't resist buying it at the time , but I found the pottery too thick to drink from .
So now I use it for flower arrangements or small plants . It is so pretty .

                                       So now it has a few friends .

                               Actually quite a lot of friends !   Hooray  !
             I am looking forward to the day this one flowers for me .