The Day In The Life Of A Gourd Flower
Waiting to bloom. This is what the flowers look like the evening before the bloom. They bloom with the rising sun and last for only one day.
This is the biggest flower I've seen this summer I believe. Hard to tell but that honey bee is actually coated with a layer of yellow pollen.
I used this coffee cup because most people know how big these cups are and it provides a handy size comparison.
The bell of that flower is MUCH bigger than the diameter of the cup. The bee is STILL busy.
Yes, that's the toe of my sandal down there on the ground. 
This picture shows how deep the bell of the flower is. It also shows the veining that is supporting the flower petals.
This picture is with a couple of more average sized flowers on a different vine. This is to illustrate the variety in size of the flowers. Really it's not only the size but the 'cut', the shape of the petals. These are relatively simple along the edges while the big one is lacy and ornate along the petal edges.
Another picture showing the height difference. Notice how much more lacy and frilly the petal edges are than on the flowers in the last picture.
This is how it ends. The first pictures were taken this morning, (July 5), this one was taken this afternoon. A short life but a glorious one. 
That's why the title is "THE Day..." because they only get one.
Kind of on the same subject, these pictures below are of a night blooming variety.
Just as with the bud above, this is flower of the birdhouse gourd, waiting for the night. The hard shell gourds have white flowers that bloom at night while the soft shell gourds have yellow, day blooming flowers.
I had to go out in the rain last night, (July 4) to get this picture. I'm pretty pleased with this one and the next one. Not just the water beading the flower petals and leaves but the way the stem of the flower emerged along the opening left by the amplexicaul curve of the leaf stem. (What? It's a word. Imagine an apple with the stem sticking up. The curve of the apple down to the base of the stem is called an amplexicaul curve.)
These flowers are much smaller than the others. They are also MUCH more thin and delicate. It's easy to see how fleshy and thick the petals of the larger flowers are. A good comparison might the difference between the thickness of note book paper and onion skin paper.
This is how it's one day ends for this flower. Wilted and brown. In a day or two they will both dry out and fall off.
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Excellent shots
Thanks for sharing
That is a great photo-essay, Wheel. It's educational, well arranged and the photos are excellent.
Thanks. I know not everyone is into gardening but I did think the flowers were pretty cool.
That was a wonderful photo essay and lesson Wheel! I never saw that flower before and it quite beautiful. Shame it only lasts 24 hours. What kind of gourds are you growing?
Several different types.
They are going to look great for the fall! And you got the bonus of beautiful flowers.
Great series of photos Wheel. Very informative as well.
Thanks for the post.
Dear Friend Wheel: Voted up for its sheer beauty. Great work.
If made into a movie, who would play the gourd flower?
I doubt Paris Hilton. Long deflowered.
E.
Not only deflowered-- but IMO sometimes she seems totally out of her gourd!
LOL. Good one Krish.
I needed that.
Thanks.
E.
My wife brings home plants, and tells me to take care of them. Which I do.
I know damn little about plants except that there's something rewarding about making them grow healthy and green.
Here in Germany the plant fertilizer of choice is pelican guano. A tablespoon once a week in the pot, lots of water and here they come!
Excellent photos BTW Wheel.
My first thought was, "That poor bee!"
Water is the secret when using guano of any kind as fertilizer. Too little and the nitrogen will actually burn your plant roots and stem.
They are really pretty! What kind of gourds to they make? Are they large or small? I'm a big fan of gourds! My cousin Jane used to grow the dipper-style gourds. She used them as dippers, bird houses, etc. She also used them to store her seeds for next year's garden...
Nice photo essay and great use of coffee cup to show scale.
It just occurred to me, now that we have no trees, there may be enough light back there in the back yard to grow gourds, next year! WOW!!!
It's a lot of fun. Be sure to have plenty of room! After they start setting fruit be sure to keep them watered well. Trellis' don't have to be tall but they do have to be long.
Thanks.
Thanks, Wheel! I guess a fence line would do it?
What a wonderful thought! I'm actually quite cheery now!
It surely was a "busy bee".
Wheel, what I have seen you post over the last while has been interesting and informative, but very rare. I wish you would post more often - you make excellent contributions to the NT site.
I'm planning on making a couple more of these garden related things. I have to say, when I'm walking around with a camera all the time it's a lot easier to do.
Oh yes, a fence would work. I have a roll of jute twine that I use to tie the vines in place till they grow enough for their tendrils to wrap around something. If you can, plant your hard shell and soft shell plants a little away from each other. The soft shell vines grow MUCH faster and will crowd out the hard shells if you let them.
I made a bunch of mistakes this time that I won't repeat. Planting too close together, inadequate trellis', mixing hard and soft shell. I've learned a LOT this year. Next time will be better.
Thank you for the advice! I've copied and pasted your comments to somewhere that I can use to refer to it.
I have a 50' long fence that is bare and UGLY. (chain link) Surely there is room for some wonderful gourds... I've got jute twine, too! Yeehaa!
Thanks Wheel.... Then by accident I got it right!
Given the nitrogen, do I need to worry about the daytime high temperature?
Cool essay!
That should do it. How tall is it?
It's one of the old style cups from Hardee's. Everything is styrofoam now but they used to serve coffee in mugs.
Wonderful photos, thank you !