The flower buds that I posted last week have opened and gone. Meanwhile, this lone flower sits atop one of the saguaro arms today. It was there and then we had a little shower and it closed. Click on the image to enlarge.
Flowers
More July Saguaro Cactus Flower Buds
To our delight, the big saguaro cactus out front has three new flower buds. We thought that the flower season might be over, but these three appeared. Two on the lower stalk and one on the upper stalk. A few of the withered older flowers on top of the saguaro fruit can be seen.
This image was taken from thirty feet away in the courtyard. Out of focus in the foreground is the arch over the courtyard gate and the top of one of the ocotillo canes to the right of the cactus. Click on the image to enlarge.
Backlit Barbados Blossom
With a little poetic license, the alliterative title works for this Pride of Barbados (a.k.a. Red Bird of Paradise) flower as the sun strikes it from behind. The lighting at this time of the day (late afternoon) augments the yellow tones in these beautiful flowers. All three of the Caesalpinia pulcherrima shrubs in the courtyard are doing their summer thing constantly making these delightful flowers that we love so much. Click on the image to enlarge.
Some More Pretty Cactus Flowers
Two very pretty cactus flowers opened up here over the last couple of days; a Star Cactus (astrophytum) flower and a Fishhook (Mammillaria grahamii) flower. Both are shown above with the star on the left and the fishhook on the right. Click on the image to enlarge.
Astrophytum Cactus Flower
This is the latest “Star Cactus” flower to open on the Astrophytum in the courtyard. We saw one of these open when we returned from our last California excursion. This one opened yesterday (when I snapped this photo) and opened again today briefly. Click on the image to enlarge.
Queen of the Night Flower Stalk
This is one of three flower stalks currently growing on the native “Queen of the Night” (Peniocereus greggii) cactus up on the hill behind our house. The location of the cactus is unfortunate for us since it is a steep climb to get to the level where it is growing. Moreover, since these bloom exclusively at night, we won’t be able to see them open because 1) steep night time climb where no lighting exists, and 2) nocturnal critters like crotalus (rattlesnake), coyote, javelina and mountain lion can be present in our rural patch of desert.
I am going to try and keep an eye on this cactus in order to possibly catch a morning after photo or two before the flowers eventually fade. Wish me luck.
