Horticultural synchronicity!
An odd, interesting, and ultimately amusing bit of horticulture-related synchronicity took place today! :) I can't summarize it too well without telling a (short) story, so please click below to see what the connection is among the keywords below. My icon tonight also offers a clue, if you know what type of flower it is (aside from it being one of my favourites! *grin*)
This morning, I copy-edited one of Tony's garden columns, as I do almost every week. I didn't know what topic he was going to write about, but it turned out to be how flowers have evolved various methods of ensuring that they get pollinated by the right pollinators, such as special colors, shapes, patterns, fragrances and blooming schedules. (This has always fascinated me). Among other things, he talked about how night-blooming flowers often look luminous in the moonlight to catch the eye of bats and moths, and often have strong fragrances to attract the same.
He forgot to mention my beloved 4 o'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa), but that's OK -- I "edited them in". ;) That got me thinking how I've never seen moths ever visit my own fantastically fragrant hot pink-and-orange 4 o'clock bush (click here to see it). However, in the morning, I notice that many of the flowers have pollen "spilled" on their petals, so obviously SOMEONE is visiting at night!
Once in a while the flowers attract big black carpenter bees, and I've heard hummingbirds enjoy the nectar, but these daytime animals have a limited window of opportunity. The flowers open between 6 and 7 p.m., a time when I never see bees and only a few hummers, who are getting ready for bed. And by the time morning rolls around, the previous night's flowers are starting to lose their vigor, and the fragrance is gone. By 11 a.m. or so, they're closed and will never open again. (Of course, new flowers open each eve!)
ANYHOO, out of curiosity, I searched online to see what types of moths pollinate 4 o'clocks, and I learned they're hawk moths, also called sphinx moths. These are large, ornate moths I knew little about and couldn't recall ever seeing -- not that I'm a moth-seeker anyway! *chuckle* Their fast, erratic flight patterns make me nervous; I prefer slower, mellower butterflies. (BTW, there are around 1,200 species of this type of moth, and one of the largest is called "hummingbird hawk moth", interestingly enough!)
OK, fast forward to tonight. It was between 8 and 8:30 p.m., and dark outside. I was on my way to the garage to put some recyclables in the bin in the garage. I didn't take more than two steps through the yard when I noticed a HUGE, grayish moth hovering around my 4 o'clocks! I doubt it was a "hummingbird hawk moth", since apparently they fly during the day. But I'm sure it was SOME type of hawk/sphinx moth, due to its SIZE and the fact that it was going bananas for my flowers! :D
Those who know me know what came next. ;) I gave a brief whoop (my "startle noise"), turned abruptly in my tracks and stumbled back into the house. However, somehow I turned in such a way that both of my slip-on shoes flopped off! LOL LOL One landed upside-down, and one rightside-up -- and not even all that near to each other! *giggle* I don't know what I did but it sure must have looked funny!! (I also dropped the recyclables.) It's a darn good thing I didn't trip and fall into the screen on the back door, especially since the screen obviously wouldn't have supported me and I would've crashed through into the family room. OUCH! (But LOL -- I'm still chuckling over how I must have looked and the flinging and flapping of the shoes!!) And all because I wigged out over a harmless (but BIG) moth that was actually paying me a compliment by pollinating my 4 o'clocks. I guess it's just an instinctive fear of mine to flee from large flying insects. That, and my phobia of getting them stuck in my hair! *blush*
So, that was the synchronicity. Tony chose this week, of all weeks, to write about night-blooming flowers and their pollinators; I didn't read his column until today; it made me think how I've never seen moths at my 4 o'clocks and made me research what the moths look like; and then tonight, for the FIRST TIME EVER, I actually saw one of the selfsame moths enjoying the flowers! ;D I just thought the whole thing was pretty cool.
P.S. The wildly variegated 4 o'clock in my icon tonight is actually from the parent plant of the ones I'm growing. I'd hoped mine would have hot pink-and-white variegation like their mother, but instead they're hot pink with VERY SLIGHT variegation in orange. You can only see it if you look closely. With 4 o'clocks, you never know what you'll get; they're quite genetically unstable. %-) But that only adds to the surprise and fun of growing them! (I'm currently germinating seeds from a different 4 o'clock whose flowers bloom in variegated hot pink with yellow). One thing they all share is a wonderful fragrance, although that too varies -- it's always sweetish and perfumey, but sometimes also has mild fruity undertones.)
This morning, I copy-edited one of Tony's garden columns, as I do almost every week. I didn't know what topic he was going to write about, but it turned out to be how flowers have evolved various methods of ensuring that they get pollinated by the right pollinators, such as special colors, shapes, patterns, fragrances and blooming schedules. (This has always fascinated me). Among other things, he talked about how night-blooming flowers often look luminous in the moonlight to catch the eye of bats and moths, and often have strong fragrances to attract the same.
He forgot to mention my beloved 4 o'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa), but that's OK -- I "edited them in". ;) That got me thinking how I've never seen moths ever visit my own fantastically fragrant hot pink-and-orange 4 o'clock bush (click here to see it). However, in the morning, I notice that many of the flowers have pollen "spilled" on their petals, so obviously SOMEONE is visiting at night!
Once in a while the flowers attract big black carpenter bees, and I've heard hummingbirds enjoy the nectar, but these daytime animals have a limited window of opportunity. The flowers open between 6 and 7 p.m., a time when I never see bees and only a few hummers, who are getting ready for bed. And by the time morning rolls around, the previous night's flowers are starting to lose their vigor, and the fragrance is gone. By 11 a.m. or so, they're closed and will never open again. (Of course, new flowers open each eve!)
ANYHOO, out of curiosity, I searched online to see what types of moths pollinate 4 o'clocks, and I learned they're hawk moths, also called sphinx moths. These are large, ornate moths I knew little about and couldn't recall ever seeing -- not that I'm a moth-seeker anyway! *chuckle* Their fast, erratic flight patterns make me nervous; I prefer slower, mellower butterflies. (BTW, there are around 1,200 species of this type of moth, and one of the largest is called "hummingbird hawk moth", interestingly enough!)
OK, fast forward to tonight. It was between 8 and 8:30 p.m., and dark outside. I was on my way to the garage to put some recyclables in the bin in the garage. I didn't take more than two steps through the yard when I noticed a HUGE, grayish moth hovering around my 4 o'clocks! I doubt it was a "hummingbird hawk moth", since apparently they fly during the day. But I'm sure it was SOME type of hawk/sphinx moth, due to its SIZE and the fact that it was going bananas for my flowers! :D
Those who know me know what came next. ;) I gave a brief whoop (my "startle noise"), turned abruptly in my tracks and stumbled back into the house. However, somehow I turned in such a way that both of my slip-on shoes flopped off! LOL LOL One landed upside-down, and one rightside-up -- and not even all that near to each other! *giggle* I don't know what I did but it sure must have looked funny!! (I also dropped the recyclables.) It's a darn good thing I didn't trip and fall into the screen on the back door, especially since the screen obviously wouldn't have supported me and I would've crashed through into the family room. OUCH! (But LOL -- I'm still chuckling over how I must have looked and the flinging and flapping of the shoes!!) And all because I wigged out over a harmless (but BIG) moth that was actually paying me a compliment by pollinating my 4 o'clocks. I guess it's just an instinctive fear of mine to flee from large flying insects. That, and my phobia of getting them stuck in my hair! *blush*
So, that was the synchronicity. Tony chose this week, of all weeks, to write about night-blooming flowers and their pollinators; I didn't read his column until today; it made me think how I've never seen moths at my 4 o'clocks and made me research what the moths look like; and then tonight, for the FIRST TIME EVER, I actually saw one of the selfsame moths enjoying the flowers! ;D I just thought the whole thing was pretty cool.
P.S. The wildly variegated 4 o'clock in my icon tonight is actually from the parent plant of the ones I'm growing. I'd hoped mine would have hot pink-and-white variegation like their mother, but instead they're hot pink with VERY SLIGHT variegation in orange. You can only see it if you look closely. With 4 o'clocks, you never know what you'll get; they're quite genetically unstable. %-) But that only adds to the surprise and fun of growing them! (I'm currently germinating seeds from a different 4 o'clock whose flowers bloom in variegated hot pink with yellow). One thing they all share is a wonderful fragrance, although that too varies -- it's always sweetish and perfumey, but sometimes also has mild fruity undertones.)