Pachira macrocarpa 1

On Sunday, we noticed the the bud and today, 4 days later, I saw this lovely flower! The previous time when I saw a flower on this tree in my backyard, it was already on the downside of its existence. I was lucky to have seen this flower today because it was the only cheerful occurance on a dismally wet and cold day.

Pachira macrocarpa 2

In my enthusiasm to photograph this flower in the best possible light as it was high above my head and I was shooting against the sky, I pulled the branch towards me get better shots. Suddenly the flower dropped onto the floor. I was stunned for a moment and did not know what to do except to pick it up. But when I did, the flower fell apart. So I decided to make the best of the situation and stuck the parts onto my lily plant so that I could take close-ups of it.

Pachira macrocarpa 3

Finally, I lay the parts of this lovely flower on my moss-covered flowerbed to take the farewell shots.

Pachira macrocarpa in my backyard

Surprise in my own backyard, now that is something to talk about on this blog. A plant that we bought many years back is now a small tree. It was a novelty that appealed to the Chinese wish for prosperity during Chinese New Year. It came as three separate plants with their stems intertwined like braids and that made a pretty presentation. I never expected to see flowers which explains why I almost missed this withered bloom. Luckily I saw it just before I went into the house and now I know, hey, I will be seeing more of these flowers hopefully!