Datura wrightii (sacred datura) is discovered this morning, blooming in the jacalope and rattlesnake indigenous garden which I’ve been trying to establish on the east side of the driveway this year.
I don’t remember tossing datura seeds in this spot, though I do remember distributing some around the front sidewalk plantings several years in succession now, and where I see no signs of their germination.
Madame Moonflower has a reputation for being picky about where she consents to flourish. She must have been reading my blog posts and noticed that I recently mentioned the Brugmansia (also known as moonflower) guarded driveway entrance to Hale Mahina, the island idyll, and She resolved not to be outdone by her domesticated cousin.
The Chilopsis (Desert Willow) which I planted last autumn, and Sphaeralcea ambigua (Desert Globemallow) which appeared a few years ago and which inspired the garden, are both blooming marvelous too.
Monsoon season has worked magic on what has up till now mostly been bare earth and a site for dumping the spoils of rock and desert detritus collecting trips. It is a rather challenging garden site of poor soil, sandwiched between driveway and a six foot, north-south, corrugated sheet metal wall, which can reflect heat quite seriously for most of the day.
I am beyond delighted to find Madame Moonflower contributing her magic, helping to turn the space into a beautiful parlor perfumed with enchantment, attracting bees and other pollinators, welcoming me, and all manner of mysteries home from wandering.
Recommended reading:
The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge Carlos Castaneda (1968)
More about the author, including a full bibliography here
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