This is one of the flowers growing on the Crassula Falcata succulent adjacent to our front porch, Every year this interesting plant grows flower stalks that produce an array of tiny red flowers. When the little flowers open up, they have yellow stamens which give the flowers an orange appearance when seen from a distance.

According to Desert Tropicals, this plant does not tolerate direct sunlight in hot Phoenix summers, so we’ll try and grow one in a shady spot on the patio at the new Wickenburg house. Our back patio should be shady all day.

I wanted to post a picture of this flower today to see if Sig94 will tell me he’s got one of these growing out of his other leg. Click on the image to enlarge

We stopped at the garden shop for a few supplies today. While there, as usual, I took pictures of some of the pretty flowers on display. I took this picture of a sunlit cluster of plumerias. Click on the image to enlarge.

I originally had this lantana shrub in the plastic pot it was in when I bought it at the garden shop. Over last winter, I thought it died, but I planted it in a partial sun spot in the back flowerbed. To my surprise, it came back in the springtime and is almost two feet tall and wide today.

According to Floridata, lantana is a native to tropical regions and exists as dozens of strains and varieties. A lantana may look orange from a distance but when the flower head is examined at close range it consists of individual yellow and red flowers that blend when viewed from afar. You can see that detail in this photograph.

Click on the image to enlarge.

This is one of two bromeliad flowers that we’re getting out on the front porch this summer. Click on the image to enlarge.

We used a coupon to get a discount on a dozen Vendela roses today. I arranged them in the vase where I already had some Asian ‘Stargazer’ Lilies. Click on the image to enlarge.

The end of night-blooming cereus flower season is coming soon. In the meantime, we’re enjoying a daily show - in the morning, that is, since they fade after a couple of hours of sunlight. Click on the image to enlarge.

We have been enjoying a nice weekend here. Out on the patio, The tuberose bulbs I planted a couple of years ago are in bloom. The flowers are pale pink and open into very fragrant blossoms. Click on the image to enlarge.

This white echinopsis flower greeted me when I went out onto the patio this morning. I also saw eleven cereus cactus flowers. This was the unique one today, though. Click on the image to enlarge.

According to the label on the planter:

The genus echinopsis, native to South America are globular cacti that are quite cold tolerant. They produce white, yellow, pink or lavender flowers in the Summertime.

In late spring, I bought some Asian lilies to put in the front porch planters for some spring color. Eventually, the lilies played out and I bought some Gerbera Daisies for the summer decorative flowers in the planters. I didn’t get around to putting them in the planters since a tomato plant had started to sprout in the soil where I cut back the lilies. It looked healthy, so I left it to grow into a mature tomato plant.

I guess it’s quite common for plants from a nursery to carry seeds from tomatoes and other things. This isn’t the first time for this to happen to us.

This is the plant today - sporting a healthy crop of six little tomatoes. I got a trellis from the back yard to support the weight of the tomatoes while they get ripe. Now, I’m looking forward to having garden-fresh tomatoes grown on the front porch. Click on the image to enlarge.

This is one of four cereus cactus flowers in bloom this morning. This time of year. one or more of these opens every day. Within hours the flowers wilt, eventually fall off leaving a portion of the stem that will grow into the fruit of this cactus. Click on the image to enlarge (notice the pollinator inside).

I’m not sure about the name of these tiny orchids, but they come in purple, yellow, red and this shade of persimmon. I have had all four come out on our California patio this year. They grow from stems that extend out of the leaves and form clusters of several inch-wide flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.

Last year, I posted a photo of this echeveria succulent on the patio. Then, it had fewer of the colorful little flowers. I guess it likes it here. I probably got this at the local garden shop last year.

Desert Tropicals describes the echeveria genus:

Echeveria is a large genus of succulents in the Crassulaceae family. They are native from Mexico to northwestern South America. The genus Echeveria is named after the 18th century Spanish botanist Atanasio Echeverria Codoy. Several of these species are outstanding garden plants. A large number offsets heavily and are given the common name of ‘Hen and Chicks’.

Click on the image to enlarge.