Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentine's Day

The newest addition to our growing cactus collection is this Golden Barrel (Echinocactus Grunsonii) purchased as a Valentine's Day gift to ourselves.  I was thinking of a rose bush, but this golden beauty was too nice to pass up.


Of course I'm not the only girl around who'd forgo candy and cut flowers in favor of a cactus plant.  The cashier oohed and aahed over it and said it was the best looking one she'd seen come through all day.  Where did we find this awesome specimen?  Wal-mart.  Yes, really.


Hardy to about 20F, It's rare that we get lower than that so I'm looking forward to adding it to the garden.  If it stops raining long enough to get some gardening done.

For those who prefer a more traditional Valentine's Day photo, this red Knockout Rose bloomed late last week.


And we did watch "As Good as it Gets" (again).

18 comments:

  1. What a brilliant Valentine's Day gift. It's a terrific specimen. While I certainly love the Rose, the form of that Echinocactus is just fantastic!

    Love that movie too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I prefer the Barrel Cactus anyday:) Great find and hope it does well for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, after two years of drought and all these new xeric plants I'm concerned if this keeps up I may need to change the gardening scheme again.

      Delete
  3. I like both of your entries for V-D. And I meant to comment on your birder post--he has a great blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tina, I'm following his blog to help identify all the birds here throughout the year.

      Delete
  4. What a great gift. Something you both can enjoy. Hope you have a fantastic V-Day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just pruned all my roses back last week, but they are beginning to leaf out. I am looking forward to those beautiful and fragrant blooms. Happy Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm just beginning to add roses to the garden. The Antique Rose Emporium is nearby and seeing how well they work in our climate has inspired me to give them a try.

      Delete
  6. What a wonderful (spiky) Valentines gift! I never have seen that movie...I probably should put it in our queue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's good to watch together because it's not a total chick flick. Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt both won Best Actor Oscars and Golden Globes for their roles so it's definitely worth watching.

      Delete
  7. That's a great Valentine's gift. I'd rather have a 'real' plant, any day.

    We have a Golden Barrel in a pot. It really needs to live in the ground. The one we had in this same pot last year, froze. Would've probably made it in the ground.

    Happy Valentine's Day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Linda, that's good to know. My neighbor has one in small pot and it's been a mild winter but I do think the ground is better long run. I'm not sure how we could avoid losing plants if we get another deep freeze like 2011 though.

      Delete
  8. You had a rose bloom last week! I'm impressed! And yes, I think a plant is the perfect Valentine's day present - even a cactus!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have had an amazingly mild winter here and the roses have been sending out single blooms.

      All special occasions I'd rather have the plant or tool for the garden and most gardeners I know are the same.

      Delete
  9. A cactus for valentine's day. Well that's definitely erm......different. Mind you, it is a good looking plant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's part of my trend toward plants that don't need tons of water. Going nearly two years with limited rain makes a big difference. Now it won't stop raining long enough to get work done in the garden!

      Delete
  10. Hi Shirley ! I was very happy with my Angel Face rosebush from Steve. An $8.00 treasure from Lowes ! The past few years Walmart has had a great selection of cactus and succulents ! Keep an eye out for goodies there ! Who knew that so many of us would rather have something from a big box store, as opposed to Victoria's Secret or the candy store !! Irises were blooming last week, along with a couple of my roses. Mountain laurel also has blooms already !

    patty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A rosebush is a great gift, good for Steve! Lowes prices can be hard to beat much of the time.

      I checked yesterday and the blooms on my Mountain laurels are still closed up. This should be a good year for them, bluebonnets too.

      Walmart had several tables of beautiful succulents this week.

      Delete