Damsel

We bought this “star” or “monk’s hood” cactus at a succulent show in California about eight years ago. It cost four dollars and was in a three-inch pot at that time. It has been transplanted to larger pots and is now in an eight inch pot sitting behind the patio adjacent to the RV drive.

Two flowers opened this morning and are the first ones to open since we have had the cactus. The flowers are about four inches in diameter. There are three more flower buds on the cactus that should also open.

Astrophytum Ornatum is native to Mexico, but seems to like it here in the Arizona desert. Click on the image to enlarge.

Several of the cholla cacti around the house have flowers opening in early summer which is pretty late in the season for them according to our observations. However, cactus flowers are always enjoyable regardless of when they occur. Click on the image to enlarge.

Some of the compass barrel cacti in the neighborhood are opening and many of the saguaros in the area have more flowers even though our big guy’s flowers seem to have come and gone. There didn’t seem to be as many this year from big guy.

Now, we look forward to second spring which will be here in a couple of months. Meanwhile, high temperatures and monsoons and the resulting humidity are in the immediate future.

The third of our three Pride of Barbados (a.k.a. Red Bird of Paradise) shrubs in the courtyard now has flowers opening. It has been over three weeks since we saw the first flower and now all three have these wonderful colors that I love so much. Click on the image to enlarge.

The shrubs are still coming back from their winter hibernation and are getting taller every day. We cut the plants down to less than a foot for the winter and all of them are getting to be three feet tall now. I like it when I can see my beautiful flowers from the road below the front of the house when they are tall enough to see over the courtyard fence.

The Spider Mums from last week had run their gamut, so it was time to replace them in the vase on the sofa table. The flower concession in the supermarket didn’t have much in the way of lilies or mums this week, so we opted for the more costly, but well worth the slight extra expense, roses.

We have come across this light cream colored rose variety many times as they are pleasant to look at, smell nice and last the better part of a week. These look very nice in my tall crystal vase. Click on the image to enlarge.