I have a plant, given to me by my late aunt, that flowers once a year, and then only for 24 hours. The smell is amazing, but only two branches are alive. I want to cut them off and re-root them, but would be devastated if it didn't work.
I'd know this wonderful plant from your description alone, but the picture you sent confirms it is Epiphyllum oxypetalum. I have one myself, and one or two nights a year we sit up to watch its vast, fleshy flowers shudder open while emitting the most incredible fragrance. By morning, they have collapsed, beautifully. They take easily from cuttings, but now isn't a great time to do it. Wait until spring, if you can, or take one cutting now and leave the other branch as an insurance policy. Let the cutting dry out for at least a week, then pot into a well-drained compost mix – one part grit to three parts compost, say. If that doesn't work, get back in touch and I'll do you one from mine.
I have Australian flatworms in my Bristol garden. They live in a damp, shady spot and in the compost bin, where they're feasting on the worms. What can I do about this?
I'm a little alarmed by this, not least because you live only a few streets away from me and I am none too happy that these flatworms are in my hood. Put bluntly, these incomers eat earthworms. In some places, the two find equilibrium, but in damp areas (such as – oh yes! – a garden on clay in the south-west) there can be a total rout of the native population, leading to decreased soil fertility and lack of drainage. Trap the flatworms by laying black polythene in damp places and checking regularly; kill them by dropping into vinegar or boiling water. Add organic matter to the soil to help out the natives, and encourage predatory rove beetles and ground beetles by leaving leaf litter and rotting woodpiles around. Or cheat and buy a pack of Just Green Rove Beetles. I'm off to set my own trap now.