Note to self: Next time I take my young son to see a flower that only blooms for three days every seven years, don’t tell him that it is “sort of like a magic flower”. I did this while waiting in line to see the Titan Arum at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. When it was our turn the view the giant flower he became terrified, started crying and yelling “Don’t like the magic” and wouldn’t pose for the photo we hoped would demonstrate the Titum Arun’s majestic proportions.
The titan arum is the largest flower in the world and originally hails from Sumatra. One flowered last year at the Cairns Botanic Gardens to minimal fanfare, and my husband stumbled on it while taking guests on an exploratory walk. By the time he took me and the boys back to see it the next day it had already died. When I heard there was one in flower in Melbourne during our Christmas vacation there I knew we must see it.
The Titan Arum received much more attention in Melbourne with people voyaging from across Victoria and then queuing for up to two hours to see the flower. We caught it on the third day, as it was just starting to wilt. Fortunately for us it had lost its trademark stench, likened to rotting flesh by the time we paid a visit.
Bub 2 terrified of the “scary flower”.
