CHARLESTON, W.Va. - My old friend Jean Simpson does a wonderful job taking care of the hundreds of Charleston's hungry as executive director of Manna Meal. Now I find out she's an artist, too! Jean sent me a photo of a collection of decorated clay pots that will be for sale at the MannaFest, an upcoming benefit for Manna Meal Soup Kitchen.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - My old friend Jean Simpson does a wonderful job taking care of the hundreds of Charleston's hungry as executive director of Manna Meal. Now I find out she's an artist, too! Jean sent me a photo of a collection of decorated clay pots that will be for sale at the MannaFest, an upcoming benefit for Manna Meal Soup Kitchen.
"The photo is of pots my girl friends and I made for the sale we are having at Manna Meal," Jean wrote. "We made these on a girls' week we have every year on the Greenbrier River. Some of the stones are from the river."
MannaFest will be held 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church, 1105 Quarrier St.
"We are not only selling these flowerpots but tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinth bulbs as well," Jean said. "We bought bulk bulbs and will package sets and sell individually." The pots and bulbs will be part of the treasure sale that takes place under tents, which will be set up outside the church.
Mysterious night-bloomer
David Campbell of Charleston has a houseplant that breaks all of the rules. The foliage is not attractive. It grows better when it's left alone. And it blooms at night. It's a night-blooming cereus, and it's a gangly vine that is a member of the cactus family.
When David called to describe the plant, I admit I was underwhelmed. I get calls about wonderful plants all of the time. So what, it blooms at night. So what, its blooms are big. So what? But the more I talked to David, I realized this plant is a wonder to behold.
Just Google it. There are dozens of videos on the Web showing time-lapse images of this plant from bud to demise. In real time, the blooms only last a few hours. Around 9 or 10 p.m., the bud will begin to open. You can see the movement as it bursts into a bloom that is 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and the scent will fill the room. By midnight, the flower is open, and it only lasts a short time. By morning, it's gone.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - My old friend Jean Simpson does a wonderful job taking care of the hundreds of Charleston's hungry as executive director of Manna Meal. Now I find out she's an artist, too! Jean sent me a photo of a collection of decorated clay pots that will be for sale at the MannaFest, an upcoming benefit for Manna Meal Soup Kitchen.
"The photo is of pots my girl friends and I made for the sale we are having at Manna Meal," Jean wrote. "We made these on a girls' week we have every year on the Greenbrier River. Some of the stones are from the river."
MannaFest will be held 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday at St. John's Episcopal Church, 1105 Quarrier St.
"We are not only selling these flowerpots but tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinth bulbs as well," Jean said. "We bought bulk bulbs and will package sets and sell individually." The pots and bulbs will be part of the treasure sale that takes place under tents, which will be set up outside the church.
Mysterious night-bloomer
David Campbell of Charleston has a houseplant that breaks all of the rules. The foliage is not attractive. It grows better when it's left alone. And it blooms at night. It's a night-blooming cereus, and it's a gangly vine that is a member of the cactus family.
When David called to describe the plant, I admit I was underwhelmed. I get calls about wonderful plants all of the time. So what, it blooms at night. So what, its blooms are big. So what? But the more I talked to David, I realized this plant is a wonder to behold.
Just Google it. There are dozens of videos on the Web showing time-lapse images of this plant from bud to demise. In real time, the blooms only last a few hours. Around 9 or 10 p.m., the bud will begin to open. You can see the movement as it bursts into a bloom that is 8 to 12 inches in diameter, and the scent will fill the room. By midnight, the flower is open, and it only lasts a short time. By morning, it's gone.
"I have never smelled a flower like this before," David told me. "My plant is probably 5 to 6 feet tall - it's a big ol' ugly thing - but the flowers are out of this world." David had a party on the night of the bloom - his boss and his neighbors all came to view the blooming.
This is a popular pass-along plant. David's was taken from his grandmother Jennie Campbell's plant in Rocky Mount, Va. His father brought it to West Virginia in 1953.
There are many plants that are often lumped together under the name night-blooming cereus. The two most common are Selenicereus and the Hylocereus genus. Originally from the tropics, it can go outside during the summer months, but under a shady tree where it gets only filtered light.
The best way to share it is from herbaceous stem cuttings, leaf cuttings or by dividing the rhizomes. The plant does not set seed, flowers are sterile, and plants will not come true from seed.
I remember reading "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver and wondering what the night-blooming plant was at the end of the novel. It must have been cereus. Common names include Queen of the Night, and Dutchman's Pipe Cactus. The stamen resembles a star, hence the other common name Christ in the Manger.
More great hardscapes
Recently I wrote about the phenomenal display of hardscape suggestions and solutions at Peerless Block in St. Albans. Not to be outdone, its sister plant, Kanawha Brick and Block, has done a facelift to its facilities at 1201 Main Ave., Nitro, and now has lovely hardscape displays as well. For information, call (304) 722-4601.
Sara Busse is a Master Gardener. Reach her at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 348-1249.
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