Tuesday 19th November - Christmas Cactus

This little pot plant is bringing me a lot of pleasure. It found its way into my shopping trolley a few weeks ago, looking rather tatty.

Now, the most enormous and unexpected flowers keep emerging, and turn into the most complicated shape.

They start off as tiny pink bobbles on the end of the leaves

which steadily  inflate into large flame shapes,

which undo the petals into this kind of exotic origami, shaded white to pink, with delicate white stamens at the top. Is it a bird, or a dancer, or some fantasy faerie?

Whatever it is, it is £5 well spent. It is on the kitchen windowsill to brighten up chores like washing up.