The gorgeous light coral cactus blooms have returned in the front agave bed. I have identified them as a type of hedgehog cactus although I can only find one photo other than mine on the internet with this color bloom. Last year there were two blooms at once in the spring and this year three have appeared with a fourth in progress. In the background a hardy aloe is also blooming.
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A nice punch of spring color along the front walk.
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The blooms are a bit lighter than they appear in these photos. Especially in the sun.
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Hedgehog cactus is also the common name of the Claret Cup cactus in the front bed. Hedgehog cactus grows into a mound and that's what this one appears to be doing. A mound covered with such pretty blooms would be wonderful. This plant was marked simply "cactus" when I bought it.
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This aloe is quite common in San Antonio and was shared by a gardening friend. It's beginning to produce pups. A great groundcover for the gravel garden. What kind of aloe is it? The kind everyone around here grows.
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More Navajo Tea yellow wildflowers have seeded themselves in with the pink Salvia greggii which is reaching a spring peak.
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And, what is that out by the street?
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It's a bloom stalk on the Yucca Color Guard! All three yuccas in this bed are going to bloom about three years after planting.
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Watch this space for more from these beauties as they progress.
Have a great Easter weekend everyone!
I had a similar reaction walking through my own garden the day after Bloom Day, wondering how so many flowers could arrive just 1 day late. Your new blooms certainly add a punch to the garden. I'm curious to get a look at the Yucca 'Yellow Guard' flower when it opens. Best wishes for a happy Easter, Shirley!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see a few more of those blooms from your garden Kris.
DeleteHappy Easter, Shirley! That Yucca Color Guard is going to be an impressive bloom!
ReplyDeleteThank you Alison, I'm checking on it each day.
DeleteOoooh- I'd never seen a bloom stalk on a "color guard" yucca before. That looks like it will be quite deserving of the name. I'm watching (and trying, trying! not to be deeply resentful) as the deer chomp off every one of the bloom stalks on our coral yucca out front. They do this reliably year in and year out. The bloom stalks are, apparently, as delicious as they are lovely. I'll content myself with watching yours. Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteThank you TexasDeb for reminding me to spray those bloom stalks otherwise they are toast. The deer don't actually eat the yucca stalks, they just snap and drop. Grrrr...
DeleteSo many--your garden is lovely. I continue to admire that pathway into the trees--so well done. I'll second Deb's admiration of the bloom stalk on the 'Color Guard'--I've never seen bloom stalks on those. How exciting!
ReplyDeleteI had read that they bloom but didn't expect it from these for a while, if ever. This is all day direct sun which totals at least 10-12 hours in summer and they have grown to about 4' diameter.
DeleteThe Navajo Tea with the Salvia is a nice combo, but the emerging flower stalk on the Color Guard Yucca is something, so velvety. That is one of my favorite aspects of some yuccas this time of year.
ReplyDeleteEven though it starts out pink it seems to end up a very bright white from the info I can find. The beautiful bells on those tall stalks are so eye catching this time of year.
DeleteLove those cactus blooms.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen a 'Color Guard' bloom, either. Will you put a cage around them? The deer would eat the blooms here.
Have a Happy Easter.
They are too big to cage so we are spraying them and hoping that works.
DeleteWhat lovely views! That 'claret cup' is a winner.
ReplyDeleteNot positive, but I think the aloe is Soap Aloe, Aloe maculata. Whatever it is we're lucky to have such a hardy prolific bloomer in our neck of the woods. Since it offsets a lot I put the extras out by the curb for the neighbors to pick up. Now I see them blooming all over the neighborhood.
You might try spraying the buds and blooms of 'color guards' and 'red yucca' with a deer repellant. It keeps my 'red yucca' flowers from getting eaten. One writer called 'red yucca' blooms 'deer desert on a stick'.
Lovely spring in your place, Shirley!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to you and your family!
Happy Easter Shirley! I love the Hedgehog Cactus and the coral flowers. I don't think I have seen aloe in flower but it is gorgeous. I haven't seen yucca in bloom since I lived in AZ. Your front garden is coming to life...
ReplyDeleteLovely! Happy Easter.
ReplyDeleteIsn't spring wonderful? Even when we have to try and outsmart the deer to save our blooms, each day we wake to discover something new in our gardens. I hope your color guards make it...mine was chewed to the ground this winter, but it is now covered with wire and making a comeback...I hope to someday see it bloom.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your blog.
Happy Growing
So exotic from where I sit...and lovely.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty and fascinating! I had to check out this post because I knew you would have some fun things blooming this time of year. Hope you had a wonderful Easter!
ReplyDeleteGood to know what I can look forward to from my young Yucca color guards. the flowers on that Hedgehog cactus are huge, relative to the size of the plant. I went to Easter service at Notre Dame in Paris. A truly unique experience. Will try to find the time to blog about it.
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