What's that Smell at The Huntington Gardens?

Reflecting back to last year at this time brings us all at MDF to our 'happy place.'  After unexpectedly receiving a call from a friend atThe Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens in early June of 2009, we hopped into the van and headed down to the Pasadena area to see what all of the fuss was about. When we arrived, there was a definite buzz in the air  at 'The H' about a rare and huge plant that most couldn't pronounce, the Amorphophallus Titanum, which we later learned, was aptly named 'Stinky.'  After a couple of weeks of hitting the highway, late nights and way-too-early-mornings, we were hooked! Checking the chart, anticipating the brief, two-day bloom we all kept our phones nearby when we finally received the call - "It's blooming tommorow!" Up at 4:00am alongside several networks, we were ready for the stench. Walking up to the Conservatory, we were already getting a whiff of what smelled like 2-day-boiled cauliflower, and then it hit us as we entered the second level. Whoa! With thousands of people already waiting in line, we filmed a piece on that stinky but beautiful, 7-foot tall rare Indonesian flower for which The Travel Channel was delighted. And after nearly 22,000 hits on our YouTube interview piece with the head Botanist, we too jumped onto the Corpse Flower train!