weekly wrap up 8-19-16 Corpse Flower

This week I rush the family off to the botanical gardens to see the flower Amorphophallus titanium more commonly known as the corpse flower.  The botanical garden in the city has five of these plants and the last time one bloomed was 20014.  Whenever it blooms there is a huge announcement and a rush to see the plant.  For some reason I missed it two years ago so this year I had my husband put an app on his phone to notify us when it was due to bloom this year!!

We found out that it was to bloom quite by accident as we took some out of town guest to the gardens for an evening out!  

To find out more about this incredible flower go to this website  

This is the flower about a week before it bloomed!  We were told when it blooms it is purple in color and truly smells like rotting meat!
My husband was less than thrilled about the prospect of seeing it in bloom but the kids and I were fascinated by it:)

 On Saturday my husband and I snuck away for a late lunch in the city, the whole time I kept checking to see if Izzy bloomed hoping it would while we where in the city!

Wer had Ethiopian food!  It was delicious:)

We drove home disappointed that Izzy was still not blooming by the time we left the city.  Then at 8:30 that evening we finally got a message that the flower was blooming!  We packed up the car and drove into the city, rushing to see Izzy before the crowds.  The gardens had promised to remain open until 1 am once the flower bloomed since it blooms for a very short time.

There were docents there giving information about the flower and yes we could even get a slight whiff of the corps smell.Sorry about the quality of the photo 

I left disappointed because the flower was not in complete bloom that didn't happened until much later that evening.  This flower only blooms for 12 to 24 hours before closing.  I had every intention of going back to the city in the morning but my car broke down:( and we weren't able to go back.  I will  just have to wait until the next one blooms!

on a positive note my orchids bloomed this week as well:)  I love orchids.