Fiore di Cacti~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Flowers, GARDENING AT THE HOLLER, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES

Cactus blooms, (click/tap to enlarge)

celebrate,

the winter rains,

with spring blossoms,

in exuberant,

fiery hues,

and pristine white,

with pale pastels.

The Holler is,

a blooming,

glory!

Cheers to you from The Holler’s prickly beauties~

255 thoughts on “Fiore di Cacti~”

  12. I love cactus, especially when they bloom. We have a small cactus garden here in our yard in Spain, including a prickly pear cactus. It goes crazy when it blooms!

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    1. My grandfather came to the US from Europe as a young man and moved west in retirement. He was taken by cactus and palm trees, icons of the west, and created a multi-acre cactus garden with many exotic varieties, some of which he grafted to make the most amazing floral displays. Cactus flowers remind me of him დ

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  14. Lavish. Not a word we associate with desert. But well displayed, more than obvious. Beautifully found and seen and shared. You are a gift. They each deserve a poem or tribute of their own, but you’re doing that better than I could. Cindy, it feels so good, just to look.

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  26. These are beautiful Cindy, and I cannot believe the depth of their colors. Even the top picture has many different colors on the same plant. They are a delight to see dear lady, thank you 😀❤️🙏

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    1. You are perceptive Mark. The multi-colored flowers growing on the same wild prickly pear was something I have never seen before. Thank you very much my friend & cheers დ

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  40. Great photos, and a great topic! Have you tried making Prickly Pear Jelly? My sister made some for each of us about 10 Christmases ago… she said it was a big effort, but we all raved, it was delicious!

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  42. It’s a testament to Nature’s creativity that such beautiful flowers can spring from unlovely cacti. And it’s remarkable that Cacti can survive and thrive in their arid environments.

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  45. Glory is right! What incredibly beautiful blooms from a prickly plant, and stunning photos as always. (There’s probably a lesson in beautiful blooms from a prickly plant methinks. )

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  46. Simply stunning, Cindy! I’ve seen blooming cacti in the stores, but they’re nowhere near as glorious as all these at The Holler. Thank you for sharing them with us!

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  47. There’s something extra joyfully exuberant about cactus blooms! What a lovely site to behold ❤️🤍💛 (I’m catching up on your posts now that I’ve returned from visiting my family where I didn’t have internet.)

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  51. Thank you Cindy. I needed that. Still recovering and this helps. In a world full of crazy people it’s nice to know you can see it for what it truly is. Beautiful.

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  55. Pingback: More incredible beauty form Cindy… | Rethinking Life

  57. Hi Cuz,
    We had prickly pear on FL but blooms were only white or light pink, never the profusion of color that you posted. They’re almost as beautiful as you are 🤩

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    1. Ahhh…. cuz! Always such a treat to hear from you my friend. I have never seen prickly pear with multi-colored flower on one plant so it was new to me as well. Hope all is well with you dear cuz and take good care დ

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  64. Pingback: Fiore di Cacti~ – charles french words reading and writing

    1. I have tasted it, but never made it. Yummy! I have also eaten prickly pear in Mexico and loved it. I just planted Santa Margarita Prickly Pear which has yellow flowers but the plant turns lanvendar in winter. Love it!ღ

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    1. Thank you Brad. I hope all is going well with you my friend. I know you are going through hard times with the death of your mother and my thoughts and prayers are with you. Stay safe & well დ

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  75. Do different colored flowers bloom on the same cactus? These pictures are so pretty! How wonderful that all that rain is resulting in such beauty!

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    1. Good question Kathy! I have never seen color variations like these before. I was fascinated. Prickly pear plants can have colors that change from yellow, to pink to red. But these plants had yellow, pink, red, orange and beige all blooming at the same time and they were wild, not cutlivated. It is possible that multiple species of prickly pear were planted by someone in this cluster long ago, and bloomed up a storm after the intense winter rains. The area where I live used to be covered with orchards for the past 100+ years. The people that worked the orchards also lived in them, and they knew plants, how to grow them, and clearly loved them. They planted so many exotics that are now growing wild and thriving at The Holler, wild Almond trees, wild camillas, coral trees, passion fruit, recurring watermelon patches, lots of individual fruit and citrus trees, roses, pomengranates, avocados, matilija poppies, the list is endless, many species I don’t know. This beautiful prickly pear group may be another example. I don’t really know დ

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      1. That’s so interesting! We used to live near orchards, and I know that those who know how can graft in limbs from other types of apples to different kinds.I’m not sure if it’s done much or is helpful, but it’s certainly an illustration of how we are grafted into Christ! I wonder if some of those people at the Holler grafted different kinds of prickly pears onto one plant?

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  76. Glorious indeed. I have one cactus here, which I haven’t looked at recently… I wonder if it will bloom sometime… maybe it is doing so right now!

    Thank you, Cindy!

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  77. Cactus flower are so in odds with their host’s spiny bodies. Lovely images of them, Cindy. I grow cacti in our yard and overwinter in a greenhouse window but they rarely flower like those you’ve shared.

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    1. Yes cacti are fascinating plants, defensive yet delicate. Wonderful that you are able to grow and get them to flower. The bloom this year was stunning due to the prolonged drought followed by torrential rains all winter long. The wild plants loved it and the blooms proved it დ

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  83. These were incredible photos, Cindy, thank you so much. I loved seeing the close-ups of the vibrant, open flowers. But I also liked seeing the overview of the cactus with the flowers, to give the overall beauty. And the little cactus buds were also incredible. Truly a joy to see this.

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  87. While you might not consider the Appalachian Mountains as having desert environments… our county in West Virginia has two unique features. First, we have no coal. Second, we have two native cacti, a variant of yucca and prickly pears. This is because we are in the rain shadow of two higher ranges, the Allegheny to the west and Blue Ridge to the east. And, we are a shale barren, with plenty of underground water, but layers of acidic shale-clay which dries hard. Thus, we have planted lots of yucca around our place, and I am nurturing a few patches to prickly pears around our gardens. – Oscar

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    1. This is just so amazing Oscar! I had no idea WV had native cacti. So fascinating. You epitomize one of the most rare and wonderful aspects of our human spirit, taking time and care, to nurture potential, when help is needed to survive. You stay safe & well my friend დ

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      1. While my inclination is to learn through reading and study, I have over the years come more to observe. Yes, reading may begin a course of observations, and reading my confirm what I have absorbed through other senses, but if we observe, we learn. Oh, yeah, I have read a lot of Leonardo Di Vinci and John Muir… go figure. Take up that walking stick and sketch pad…

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    1. Yes! Delicate, defensive beauty. I am quite partial to this natural dicotomy. I so love hearing from you Leslie. Your paintings hang in our foyer. My grandsons look at them all the time and ask about ‘the lady from from Canada who painted them.’ I tell them about your sons. They would like to meet you. So would I. Stay safe and well my friend დ

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      1. I would love to meat you all as well. Maybe some day that will be possible. At the moment travel is less than a pleasant experience so we’ll have to take a rain check on that. Your grandsons must be growing up fast. My younger grandson is approaching 6’2. My two other grandsons are both over 6′. Take care Cindy and God bless you all.
        Leslie

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        1. Yes. I am very glad I traveled extensively when I did. There are so many problems now. That is amazing about your grandsons! I hope I live to see this! I remember the pediatrician telling me my son would be over 6 feet. Since he weighed 7 pounds, I couldn’t comprehend it. He is a bit over 6’2! The grandsons turn 5 soon and we are taking them to Hawaii. It is all they are taking about. Take good care and blessings to you Leslie.

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  97. Pingback: Smorgasbord Blogger Spotlight – July 29th 2023 – #Aging Carol Taylor, #Treeart Jennie Fitzkee, #Cycling Cheryl Oreglia, #Horror Olga Nunez Miret, #Cacti Cindy Knoke | Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

  102. I see plants as creatures. I’ve learned they have an awareness and actually communicate with one another in a manner unlike what we otherwise could imagine without the proof based on research. These are such beautiful photos of beautiful, mysterious creatures.

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    1. We have tended to underestimate everything in the natural world, plant communication, animal compassion, bird intelligence, the list goes on and on. I have told you The Holler is swarming with lizards. They are not at all afraid of us, because we have lived in harmony for such a long time. People underestimate reptiles too, don’t they! Give Murph a pat from me დ

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      1. We certainly tend to do this until we observe and learn. Thank you for sharing about The Holler lizards. I didn’t know that. Reptiles are indeed widely underestimated, as well as underappreciated. Murph for patted “From Cindy.” : )

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