Blooming Cacti: Part I~

Mar27

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Cacti are blooming all over Hollerdom.
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Prickly plants yielding fragile flowers.

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Like gilded lilies,

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in rainbow hues,

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seeking sun,
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through lethal thorns.
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An Easter parade,

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in a desert scape,

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beauty triumphs in the harshest places.

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Cheers & Happy Easter to you~

271 thoughts on “Blooming Cacti: Part I~”

  9. I’m lovin’ this Easter Parade Cindy! What a treat! I also can’t help but notice, as I view the colors and structural formations about how much these plants remind me of flora and fauna in the wettest places on earth – under the sea. Some of these remind me of sea anemones.

    By the way, have you visited Lotusland in Montecito, CA here: http://www.lotusland.org/explore-garden/gardens/ ? This place was my first introduction to all manner of gigantic, exotic cacti! 🙂

    ~Lynn

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    • Oh my God! It is truly amazing how alike our brains think! I was trying to edit some of the paler flowers like the yellows and peaches and I told Jim, “these flowers are harder to photograph than anenomes and they look so similar.”
      It is eerie. We have brain synergy. Lotusland looks incredible and I love Montecito, so I just have to go back! 😉

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  10. Ah, me Cactus Rose, Y’ve out done yerself wi’ these pics. I especially was interested in the “rainbow” one, Cuz. Is that natural? ….and the last pic looks like a “bridge cactus. Happy Easter ! 🙂

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    • It’s a reflection of a stained glass piece in the garden. This was at San Diego Botanical Garden. I was kinda entranced by it. Looks like I went after the cactus with colored chalk which would hurt! Ouch! Happy Easter cuz~

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  12. Seeing these creatures up close and personal, my mind wanders….to the pre-historic….or maybe to outer space… or to someone who’s gotten a gorgeous new hat or outfit, but doesn’t know how to carry it off…..

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    • Laughing…..Yes indeed, just more than a little odd and off kilter aren’t they! Plus they remind me of people, prickly and defended, but capable of amazing tenderness and beauty.

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  14. The cactus in the fourth from the bottom picture (“an Easter parade”) looks like the genus Opuntia which produce sweet edible fruits ranging in color when ripe from green, yellow, orange, red, purple, to even brown. In the picture, the fruits are the oval shaped growths beneath the reddish flowers. Each are encased in a thick prickly (i.e. barbed) skin which is easy to remove with a knife and a set of work gloves. The fruits have a similar taste and texture as watermelon. They grow wild and are quite common throughout Mexico and the western U.S., and have been introduced to many regions outside their native habitat. Each region and locale seems to have a unique name for these fruits. My family, of Sicilian ancestry, called them “ficcudini.”

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    • Yes, we call them Prickly Pear cactus and they are sold de-prickled at our local grocery store which is Hispanic owned. It is used alot in Mexican cooking and grows all over The Holler. I have eaten it in Mexican restaurants, but have never cooked it. I should try it. How interesting that it is eaten in Sicily too. It is a very small world!

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  19. Wow!!! Simply stunning!! With such raging colors.. indisputable proof that sometimes the most beautiful things come with “a few” thorns…😉😳🙀🙄😸👍🏽

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    • There is something so unique about cactus flowers. I suppose it relates to growing in such a hostile environment, and being so delicate and fragile, amidst such formidable thorns.

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  31. Easter gives hope for tomorrow,
    As after the winter comes Spring.
    Our hearts can be filled with gladness
    As hearts rejoice and sing.
    Happy Easter

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  33. The cactus is wicked beauty! Would not want to land on one! tee hee! I love the flowers on them! Happy Easter at the Holler Cindy! Hugz Lisa and Bear

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  48. Hi Cindy,

    Living in The Holler’ is like living in a biological laboratory. Something new and beautiful every day. As I have said before, envy is one of the “Thou Shalt Nots”, but I think He may overlook just this one little bout of envy. Great pictures. Thanks again for an armchair visit to The Holler.

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  49. Gorgeous desert blooms. I have never seen the rainbow cacti before! We were in Phoenix last year at this time and we were stunned at the variety of the desert flowers and their beauty. What a brilliant show of color!

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  53. You captured the beauty of this special blooms, Cindy. The colors are so rich and gorgeous!
    I haven’t seen any yet here in Texas.

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      • I just came back from a short driving for the wildflower sites, people were taking photos everywhere. And, I was thinking how visionary Mrs. Johnson was.

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          • You’d see me in tears. and I do so often, also thinking her audacity for advocating Civil Rights…
            This year bluebonnets came out in the early March, a few weeks early, then cold front came a week ago, it did some damage.

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      • You know something, I almost feel like she is here with both of us now in this conversation. Being driven to tears by a woman wise enough to cull wildflowers all over the state of Texas means to me you know a measure of goodness. And yes, her ethical and humanitarian self was mind boggling and she ran so under the radar, There is a reason why we like each other Amy and I suppose this sort of mysterious connection is it. Happy Easter my friend.

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  60. Wow, gorgeous cacti blooms! I hear that Death Valley is experiencing a once in a decade bloom – are you going? Looks like you have enough of a show at your door!

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    • A super bloom, yes! I wish I was. I find Death Valley fascinating at anytime, but the super bloom would be phenomonal. I think either Curt or Timothy are going though so we will be able to see their photos.

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  67. Cindy, it wasn’t until I moved to Southern California that I discovered the flowering of cacti plants. Such beauty is a delight to behold!

    Your photos cause me to wonder: Those thorny individuals in our lives must have much inner beauty that we fail to see and appreciate.

    A Happy Easter to you and your loved ones <3

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    • Yes, cacti are emblematic for me of people. The presence of discouraging thorns often hides inner beauty just waiting to be recognized. We all have thorns after all, and the vast majority of us have inner beauty too. Sometimes it even balances out! 😉

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  70. These are gorgeous, Cindy! I’ve never seen the desert in full bloom — thank you for showing me a bit of it. Who knew there were so many lovely Easter dresses on thorny plants?!? Happy Easter!

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  73. I liked the juxtaposition of cacti with pretty flowers to Christ’s death and gift He gave us of forgiveness. Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend, Cindy. <3
    Spending time with Mom for Easter, oldest daughter here Good Friday all thru Sat. We played Yahtzee and Rummy with my 2 brothers while Mom held her dog on her lap.
    Youngest daughter arrived on Easter Sunday and we sat in the sun at Mom's senior living apt. Mom loves watching ducks and geese along the man made lakes here. 🙂

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    • Ahhh, for you to say this is such an honor. Because it would take you to see “the essence of cacti.” I am so lucky to know people like you and this is God’s honest truth.

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    • Yes, Death Valley is having a super-bloom which I would seriously love to see! SoCal got less precipitation, but it got a bit and it is bringing out the blooms!

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  112. Cindy, the incredible contrast that you have created here is something ~ the first photo does not seem possible, which makes it all the more beautiful.

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    • These are my favorite cactus flowers because of the vibrant, as you said almost unbelieveable reds, oranges and yellows. They grow wild all over the mojave desert. So pleased you see them as I do Randall & cheers to you~

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  115. These pictures reminded me so much of when we lived in Tucson! …fond memories!!! Thank you for sharing them! I am only sad I am late in seeing them. We did have a Prickly Pear bloom a few weeks ago a beautiful yellow flower. We have been tending to it ever since it was very small.

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