Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Some Spring Color

Some of my older Parry's Penstemon plants are in full bloom now. The youngest ones are just beginning to open and I have quite a crop. The yellow flowers are Brittle Bush.



This Parodia Horstii has a straw flower-like bloom. This cactus can be solitary, or clustering, as this one is doing. The new stem is barely visible in this photo.



Valentine Emu is still going strong, so I won't be shearing it anytime soon. It needs it badly, as it is so heavy it is leaning now. These shrubs, unlike other shrubs in my garden, can take a good shearing every spring.



An out of focus Thelocactus bicolor, commonly known as Glory of Texas, is in full bloom now. In the background is Desert Marigold. Both of the cacti I've shown here are blooming early. Very few of my other cactus specimens are showing any sign of budding. By April, I should have quite a few!

17 comments:

Gardeness said...

Amazing blooms.

Claude said...

Wonderful blooms... isn't this wildflower season in your area?

I was considering getting a glory of Texas cactus for the rock garden, but some sources say it won't survive outside here, and some say it will, It's very confusing to know what to buy sometimes. But with those blooms, it might be worth trying...

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Aiyana .. what a pretty post to see this morning in our -16 start to the day ... your selection is so cheerful and colourful ... thanks !

Anonymous said...

Love the flowers.

kesslerdee said...

I love the Valentine Emu! For some reason I have never "really" noticed this plant around town until this year, and I just adore it! It is on my ever lengthening list of must haves in my yard! Happy Spring!

Paula said...

Oh my goodness - it si amazing to me that there are actually flowers blooming right now some place n the world. These pictures make my heart happy knowing that this is coming my way!
Thanks for sharing,
Paula in Idaho

Jean said...

Lovin' the spring colors! The Parry's Penstemon and Valentine Emu are both lovely colors. Can't wait to see more of your blooming cactus! Jean

Unknown said...

Wonderful blooms here. Love the pink with the yellow in the foreground of the first photo!

Carla said...

ooo, once I lived in El Paso, and so loved the colors of desert blooms! Nothing like it, the Valentine Emu is amazing!

Deb said...

love the photos, love the glory of Texas, I'm from Texas

Lythrum said...

Lovely blooms, I an glad to see that someone has a bunch :)

Anonymous said...

Glory hallelujah, those are beautiful. I've admired Parry's penstemon in Scott Calhoun's books but never tried it. I'm not sure I've even seen it offered here in Austin. If I ever grew any, I'd have to build a stucco wall to show it off.

fitty's pinky rose cottage said...

yippeee spring is here! so cheerful flowers!

Green thumb said...

The most beautiful thing about gardening blogs are the lovely photographs with an assortment of bright natural colors; the colors, flowers and the whole ambiance of your garden is awesome: Happy Spring!

Connie said...

Your flowers and cacti are beautiful!! I'm jealous...Ohio is no where near that much bloom yet.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I know heat comes soon after Spring arrives, but I'll take that over winter anytime. I'm sure you get a lot more heat than we do, though!

Deb said...

Thank you for stopping by, come back anytime!!!

kate smudges said...

The Valentine Emu is gorgeous ~ as are the Penstemons. It must be wonderful having these blooms in your garden now. Still covered with snow here. I hope all's well with you, Aiyana ~