It was a gift from Christmas, and the box containing the bulb lived on the kitchen windowsill for a long time until I spotted the stalk trying to escape through the gap beside the lid. I took it out of the box, gave it water, and put it in the conservatory. When the flowers begain to emerge from the top of the stalk, I photographed it.

Two days later, I photographed it again.

Three days later, it was in full bloom, sensuous and full of life. The sepals were the only exception to the vibrant show, turning brown as they gave up their life-given moisture. They had completed their job of protecting the flower buds until they were ready to meet the world.

Ten days later, the flowers had completed their task and hung down in richly textured gowns, the sexual organs still visible, but dry and inoperable. Day by day, the ovaries swelled with new life, seeming almost to glow in their pregnancy.