New Blooms and re-blooms and no blooms for Cactus Monday

New Blooms:
I didn't expect this little "Owl" cactus to bloom- I don't know why but I just didn't expect it. So when I happened to notice the other day that it was developing flowers I was very pleasantly surprised.

Re-Blooms:

My night bloomer keeps putting out buds, and about once a week I get a few flowers that open.

And the little peanut cactus doesn't seem to quit either- bloom after bloom after bloom.

No Blooms:

My "Fence-post" cactus may be getting babies but no blooms at all. I showed just the babies last week so here is the whole cactus. I keep wondering if I should cut the leaning part off, but then there are the two new babies on the tip of it. Advice anyone?

Happy Cactus Monday! May the week ahead bring rain to the desert!

To see amazing prickly art work and photography from around the world please visit Terri's Painted Daisies.

June Blooms and other garden delights

Want to take a trip through my desert garden and see what blooms in June? Come along with me....

I love the way the Dahlias open up, each stage having its own beauty. Here is that steady blooming orange dahlia of mine, just ready to raise her head and open her petals.

And a shot from the side.....

Here is a picture of my little Baja Fairy Duster. This little plant has done well from the start and always has a few little flowers open.

My "Fuzzy Navel" cactus put out 4 lovely little night blooms. 3 bloomed the first night, 1 the second night.

My two Pansy plants were faithful bloomers all winter long, providing me with hundreds of flowers which I dried and have saved to do something crafty with. My Mom makes pictures, bookmarks and other neat things with dried Pansy blooms. Once it started getting hot I put the two plants in a shadier area and I am still getting some pretty blooms.

This pot holds a mystery sprout that came up last year in another pot. I had to smile to see the two little chain-fruit Cholla fruits that dropped into the pot when it was under the Cholla tree. They have both sprouted into little Cholla plants. I'm not sure what I'll do with them- these Cholla are wicked when grown, but these little guys are just plain cute!

I never did find out what my mystery sprout was. It has lots of leaves but has never bloomed.

The 3 Passion Vines are in constant bloomers, and their long vines have grown wild around my office window and up the bird feeder area. This next picture is the last one I planted. It had a little transplant shock but it got over it quickly and seems very healthy and vigorous now. The leaves seem to take the sun better than the Lavender Lady passion vine. That one has lots of sunburn but this little vine stays nice and green for the most part.

I planted green "Envy" Zinnias in several different areas, including in this cement tube my neighbor gave me. I have it under the bird feeder and they have done better here, than in the flower pot near the front of my home. Some of these actually have more than one outer row of petals. They still are not full and lush as expected. The Arizona heat is hard on flowers. Still they look green and pretty next to the bird feeders.

And lets take a walk to the backyard now and check out the little oranges on the orange tree. They are growing quickly- I can't wait to taste them!

And remember the little "rescued" Pomegranate tree? It has 3 Pomegranates growing- here are two that look like twins!

And my experimental Rhubarb plant- experimental because I don't think Arizona is ideal rhubarb country but I can just taste that Fresh Rhubarb Cake recipe I used to win purple ribbons with at the state fair in South Dakota.

I planted a few different kinds of Sunflowers and some did better than others. I thought this one was a "Teddy Bear" Sunflower- but it doesn't look quite like the other Teddy Bear Sunflowers which are fuzzier in the center. Check out the last sunflower picture below to see them side by side.

And almost every day I see the little lizards that like to climb my Olive tree- here is one doing his daily push-ups! Click to get a better view.

And my beloved Brugsmania...two drying blooms.

Meeting a fellow Tucson gardener and bringing home some Canna cuttings got me going with my first little pond set-up. I have plans to expand this but haven't found the time yet.

And the aquatic Canna were inspiration for some normal dirt grown Canna that I planted on the side of my house.

My Hibiscus which are two years old now, put out bloom after bloom. I love the pink ones when they are just ready to open -they are so graceful!

Heres to June- its been a wonderful month in the garden. July should bring monsoon rain and lots of thunder and lightening shows too if we are lucky!

More inspiring stories from Dee's Cactus patch

I've found it interesting looking back at my plants a year ago, and comparing them to today. Sometimes, such as with this little "ugly cactus" I posted about last June. I didn't realize how much it had in fact grown until I looked back at my posts from a year ago. Quite the difference! It has since lost it's pot and gone into the ground but hasn't recovered enough from prior abuse to bloom.

This Echinocereus pentalophus (thanks for the ID Claude) looked dead in early Spring, and in fact one of the arms broke off when brushed by the hose. Notice the arms still look sick, but all the green growing out in the center. There are pictures of this cactus flowering last April here. It has the most amazing pink blooms.

And that supposedly dead arm? I laid it among the rocks in my little succulent area under the olive tree, and sure enough-there is fresh green growing at the tip of it.

This cactus came from a neighbor and I think it might be a "fence post" (Pachycereus marginatus) cactus, but really don't have an official ID yet. It was in a pot when I got it and one of the "posts" was leaning way over rather than standing straight up. I planted it in the ground and propped up the one leaning arm. It looks like it has adjusted to its new home with new babies popping up now. Hoping Claude or Aiyana can help me out with an ID on it! :)

Happy Cactus Monday...may your week be filled with prickly plants and a creative spirit. To see other amazing cactus themed art and photography from around the world just visit Terri's Painted Daisies.

Brugmansia blooms at last

At long last, my little Brugmansia (Angel Trumpet) has bloomed! I bought this little Brugmansia last summer and it bloomed until fall, and then lost most of its leaves over the winter. This Spring, I re-potted it in a half whiskey barrel and although it has grown tremendously all the little buds that formed dropped, until this last round. There are 4 blooms on this first flush. The blooms start our yellow, turn white and then pink as they open. The pink deepens after the flower first blooms.
I babied this little tree through the winter here and by next fall I will have 4 cuttings to take from the main tree- anyone want to try a brug?
Here is the little tree-compare it here from last September.

The flowers don't open up fully until evening and then it as if they are lifting their skirts high to invite the bugs in. And the scent- it is wonderful, drifting along the front patio. It is a combination citrus and powdery scent.

This flower is on its second night of blooming- notice the pink color has deepened and it has a little wilting around the edges.


Brugmansia come in a wide variety of colors and some have double blooms. I have only seen this very common variety in my local nursery but I am tempted to do some online searching as I know there are so many others available. The problem becomes where to put them- they do much better in Tucson with a good deal of shade during the hot afternoons, and my yard is definitely getting full in the shaded areas.

My two oldest Pies are here visiting me so I have a couple days off this week to spend with them, gardening and whatever....it is going to be a wonderful time!

Skywatch Friday- June Sunset

The sunsets are always gorgeous but as the weather turns more to monsoons season, and the clouds gather in the afternoons, the sunsets get even more varied and intense. The Monsoon season is here, but the rains have not really made it yet. Usually around the 4th of July we get the first boomers. I look forward to them like a kid in a candy store.



And the excitement builds as the first 4 buds on my little brug hang ready to burst open...soon...very soon!



Happy Skywatch Friday! To see the amazing sky from vantage points around the world please visit SkyWatch Friday.

Sunflower Bloomin' Tuesday

Not all of my experiments with planting flowers from seeds have been a failure. A few have actually done fairly well considering how hot it has been. The sunflowers I planted are just starting to bloom.

And I have to show my Brugmansia bloom just ready to pop! This will be the very first bloom of the year! I am so ready to smell heaven on my front porch!

Happy Bloomin' Tuesday!

To see what is blooming in gardens around the world please visit Ms "Green Thumb" Jeans.

Visiting the past for Cactus Monday

You may remember this little "rat tail" cactus I showed last October. It had been through some ups and downs since I became caretaker of it. It had started to show some pretty pink growth.

But it was mostly just old tails.

Fast forward to today, and it almost looks like a different plant. The pink tips are still there a little, but it is mostly green.

And meet a newer thorny friend. This little guy came to me from a neighbor whom my son had been helping with yard clean-up. He was chopped off from the main cactus and my son knowing, I would expect him to save it, did and brought it home to me. The interesting thing is the varying forms it is showing, the new growth looks very little like the old part. I'm not sure what it is but I have a hunch it might be a night bloomer. We will see!


To see other Cactus Monday wonders please visit Terri's Painted Daisies and have a wonderful Cactus Monday.