The monsoons started last evening. I guess the rainfall prompted one flower on my protected* cereus cactus to open during the night. I was fortunate enough to get this photo before the flower wilted a couple of hours later. Click on the image to enlarge.
Happy Independence Day!
* Protected because I keep the pots surrounded with fine wire mesh to keep the desert critters from eating the flower buds before they have a chance to open.
I posted a picture of a single water lily last year when we were at this same koi pond inside the hospital courtyard. This time, I got a photo of these three water lilies and they weren’t the only ones in the pond.
I always think that water lilies seem out of place in the high Sonoran Desert, but they apparently do quite well here and in neighboring Yarnell up the road about 20 miles or so. Click on the image to enlarge.
Do you remember the photo I posted of the agave flower stalk last April? It’s a damn shame, but sometime in the last 24 hours, the top-heavy succulent toppled over and into our neighbor’s cactus garden.
We had been watching the progress of the agave since the flower stalk appeared. We drove down our road today to do some errands and saw that the agave had toppled. So sad – I was looking forward to getting some photos of the flowers that the little hummingbirds just love. I feel sorry for our neighbor who has to get the mess cleaned up and hauled. Fortunately, the fall did not destroy the section of split-rail fencing where it fell.
Click on the image to enlarge.
We had occasion to do some shopping today and while we were in the supermarket, I noticed they had lots of pretty roses including this salmon-colored variety called “Movie Star.” I got a dozen of them and put them in a vase with some baby’s breath on the sofa table. They have a light, rosy fragrance and should last the three days before our regular shopping day on Thursday. Click on the image to enlarge.
A little over a week ago, I posted a picture of flower pods on one of my Pride of Barbados (a.k.a Red Bird of Paradise) shrubs in the courtyard in front of the house. Yesterday and today, the bottom pods opened up to reveal my favorite Arizona flowers.
This is the third year since we planted the one-gallon shrubs and this year is the earliest we have seen flowers open on them. Some other Red Birds around town were opening already, so I assume as the shrubs mature, they will open earlier in the spring. We shall see next year. Click on the image to enlarge.
I took photos yesterday of some flowers on display outside the little department store on the west side. The one depicted above is a drought-tolerant variety of daisy called “Arizona Sun” (Asteraceae Gaillardia). According to several on-line sources, this flower attracts butterflies and after the flower petals fall off, they attract goldfinches.
Dave’s Garden has this additional information about this colorful flower:
Sun Exposure:
Full SunBloom Color:
Red
Red-Orange
Bright YellowBloom Time:
Mid Summer
Late Summer/Early Fall
Mid Fall
Blooms repeatedlyFoliage:
HerbaceousOther details:
This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Self-sows freely; deadhead if you do not want volunteer seedlings next season
Click on the image to enlarge.
Not unsurprisingly, the Arizona Queen of the Night cactus on the west side of the lot has developed three flower buds. One is quite prominent at this time, with two smaller buds in the offing. To highlight the three buds, roll your mouse cursor over the image above.
Last year, we had three beautiful flowers open on this little cactus and now we are expecting three more. There is another Queen in our back yard up on the hill, but it is in a place where I would be unsure of myself hiking up there after dark to photograph the flowers. If the flowers last until morning light, we may be able to get photos of them as well.