Tuberose

Back in April or May I picked up a package of tuberose bulbs at Lowe's and stuck them in a pot, and put the pot out in a flowerbed. I don't think I watered it once this summer, yet the spindly foliage persevered. A month or so ago the plants put up stalks that clearly intended to flower and looked a lot like hosta flower spikes.

I've been waiting for weeks for them to open and show me what a tuberose is--I've never seen one in real life. Today I got tired of waiting/afraid of the hard freeze that's due, and cut the stems and brought them inside. They opened and they smell heavenly, like gardenias and honeysuckle. They're perfuming the whole front of the house. Next year: multiple pots of these beauties.