Last week we went to the home improvement center’s garden shop and picked up a pair of potted Gerberas to replace the lilies in the porch planters. These are the brightest red Gerberas I’ve ever had. There will be plenty of color on the porch for the next couple of months.
I posted a photo of one of my Santana hibiscus flowers last month. Over the holiday weekend, a flower on my Cherie hibiscus opened up. I took this photo this morning under overcast skies.
Despite the gloomy weather, the colors of this flower are very bright. If I recall correctly, these will be blooming all summer. Click on the image to see full-sized.
I looked this variety up on the web and found a site with the name of the variety and a full description:
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Cherie’
TROPICAL HIBISCUS CHERIE
Tropical Hibiscus A profusion of large, showy orange, single flowers, with a maroon throat, are set against a background of dark green foliage. Blooms from spring through fall when planted in a well drained, full sun planting site.
According to the label on the container from the Garden Shop, this cactus is a hybrid between peanut cactus and Red Clown cactus. Click on the image to enlarge.
I got this image from the archive. When we went to Arizona in May to buy our property there, a lot of the cactus were in bloom. There is a pencil cholla in our new back yard that will have flowers like this one next spring. Click on the image to enlarge.
From Todd’s Desert Hiking Guide:
The Pencil Cholla is a member of the Cactus Family. It is a shrubby cactus which can grow to 9 feet in height and has many cylindrical, smooth, jointed sections which are up to 6 inches in length and 0.5 inches in diameter. The plant typically grows in the southern portions of Arizona in sandy plains and washes at elevations between 1000 – 3000 feet. The Pencil Cholla gets its name from the many narrow jointed segments which comprise the cactus.
The Pencil Cholla typically blooms between May – June and produces yellow, greenish or brown flowers to 1 inch in length, followed by a spineless red tinged fruit to 1.5 inches in length.
I am so pleased with the late spring/early summer Asian lilies that I planted in pots on the front porch. These are not only colorful, but prolific in flower production. Click on the image to enlarge.
The first of the summer Golden Torch cactus flowers opened up last evening. I took this shot of it this morning. This flower will be done within 24 hours. I’m happy to see that this cactus variety does well in Arizona too. Click on the image to enlarge.
The Devil’s Tongue barrel cactus had three open flowers today. I believe this is the first time that three were open at once. Click on the image to enlarge.
