It happens in the blink of an eye. On Monday morning I checked on the lace cactus growing in the front garden. The flower bud was ripe to open. "Good" I thought, it will bloom tomorrow, just as our out of town visitors are arriving. It was not to be. By the time the sun reached the spot around lunch time it had unfurled its delicate paper petals, shouting out "come and see me now, tomorrow I will be gone" Sure enough, the flower had shriveled and closed 24hours later.
Another cactus is flowering and these have a longer bloom time. A pretty little coronet of flowers encircles the top, with the promise of more flowers to come. This cactus is in the bowl I bought in Phoenix in December and which I completely repotted on returning home. The bowl had been overwatered by the store and in the soggy soil I was afraid for their health.
I finally managed to get this yellow flowered succulent identified at the recent Cactus show. It is Glottiphylum davisii, and every few weeks it puts out a single yellow bloom.
The cardinal chicks have hatched. As I have mentioned before, the nest is built in the cross vine growing on the gate in the English garden. We are really excited because previous nests built in our garden by cardinals and doves have been marauded by the scrub jay. We are keeping our fingers crossed for these little hatchlings.
The yellow Confederate jasmine perfumes the whole garden. Incredibly, it survived our extremely cold winter without the loss of a single leaf. Unlike the sister, white flowered jasmine in the back garden. That one lost every leaf and we had to cut it down to bare wood.
It was in serious need of a good pruning so we have mother nature to thank for her perfect timing.
It happens in the blink of an eye. On Monday morning I checked on the lace cactus growing in the front garden. The flower bud was ripe to open. "Good" I thought, it will bloom tomorrow, just as our out of town visitors are arriving. It was not to be. By the time the sun reached the spot around lunch time it had unfurled its delicate paper petals, shouting out "come and see me now, tomorrow I will be gone" Sure enough, the flower had shriveled and closed 24hours later. 
Another cactus is flowering and these have a longer bloom time. A pretty little coronet of flowers encircles the top, with the promise of more flowers to come. This cactus is in the bowl I bought in Phoenix in December and which I completely repotted on returning home. The bowl had been overwatered by the store and in the soggy soil I was afraid for their health.
I finally managed to get this yellow flowered succulent identified at the recent Cactus show. It is Glottiphylum davisii, and every few weeks it puts out a single yellow bloom.
The cardinal chicks have hatched. As I have mentioned before, the nest is built in the cross vine growing on the gate in the English garden. We are really excited because previous nests built in our garden by cardinals and doves have been marauded by the scrub jay. We are keeping our fingers crossed for these little hatchlings.
The yellow Confederate jasmine perfumes the whole garden. Incredibly, it survived our extremely cold winter without the loss of a single leaf. Unlike the sister, white flowered jasmine in the back garden. That one lost every leaf and we had to cut it down to bare wood.
It was in serious need of a good pruning so we have mother nature to thank for her perfect timing.
Ah...little birdy faces, only a mother could love. Then, they turn out to be so beautiful. Glad they're making it this time.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of beautiful..those cactus blooms are just that. Isn't it strange that such prickly plants, can have such delicate flowers.
By the way....Pam's tour of your garden, shows again how amazing it is. Wow....
~~Linda...
Aren't cactus flowers just amazing? They just come in the blink of an eye. Thanks for showing me something I don't get to see here in Oklahoma.~~Dee
ReplyDeleteThat crown of pink is beautiful on the cactus. Lovely Jasmine. I had it growing in my garden in Houston, and I know how intoxicating it's perfume can be. Too bad about your white jasmine. I'm glad it bounced back for you.
ReplyDeleteMmm, I can smell that yellow star jasmine through the computer screen! It's really beautiful the way you have it trellised next to your door.
ReplyDeleteSuch cute little birds. I do hope they survive (you must really be west of Austin to have Scrub Jays; at least I never saw any in town before!).
ReplyDeleteI just love your cacti. Good thing you took that bloom photo when you did.
Funny, I have the white variety of jasmine growing in a pot near the house and it survived the winter just fine (although I did cover it with a sheet a few times). I think it must be hardened to winters since it's been there for a while. Mine is just now starting to bloom. Love it.
The yellow Confederate Jasmine is magnificent.
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