Sarracenia Finale

Day 5: If you will scroll back to June 8th of this year, you may watch the progression of Sarracenia's mysterious, exotic blossom as it unfolds to the peak of its beauty on June 23d. After that date, the color began to fade and the petals curled and dried. I kept expecting them to drop, or for the dome-like structure in the center of the flower to burst, but neither happened. Sarracenia held onto her solitary bloom until it became a dry and withered husk. When a raccoon knocked over the plant stand and I found my baby spilled onto the concrete, I freaked, but unnecessarily. Neither the foliage nor the half-dry blossom sustained any major damage and in any event, I'd needed to move the colony to a larger pot before winter. The unscheduled transplanting had no particular effect on the plant; she just kept going, like the Energizer bunny. Today, I picked the withered flower, and after photographing it, consigned it to a vase where it will keep company with Nigella pods and strawflowers until dust wins out over keepsake value.