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I do not have the same nose as a sphinx moth. Just in case you were wondering. Or the olfactory glands of other night-flying nectar guzzlers. The night-blooming cereus cactus produces flowers with an intensely sweet fragrance to attract these pollinators. When I put my nose right next to the five-inch, creamy-white blossoms, I did not detect the advertised seductive perfume. Yep, that was me, out in the still-too-dark-to-be-called-morning, sniffing cactus blooms. I am not always out walking in the darkness, but we have entered that time of year where all outside activities need to be accomplished before the morning temperature rises. Realizing I had three hours of yardwork that needed to be done that day, I decided to walk the dog early. And that’s when I saw them. Bright white circles on a cactus at a neighborhood park that appeared like headlights in the predawn morning. The cereus, night-blooming cactus, was blossoming. And not just one bloom. Or five. Or ten. Thirty-two impossible-to-ignore, five-inch, creamy-white flowers. Like eye-level stars in the darkness.
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