Cemetary cactus all abloom...

All right, not the actual cemetary cactus... those are in another part of my yard... this is an Escobaria missouriensis that I'd had for a few years before... the actual cemetary cactus are producing blooms, or about 1/3 of the cuttings are... the other ones are still too small... But the slightly pinker toned blooms in my header photo were taken in the cemetary last year.

This plant crowns the top of a strawberry jar in my back yard, and by this time next year will have totally covered the opening...

It's been blooming for about a week now. Unfortunately, the blooms only open when the plant is getting direct sun. The sun moves behind the house and throws a shadow on the plant every day at about 4:30 pm... causing the blooms to close. So today, when I had a day off, was the first time I've been able to see the blooms open.

I'd move the whole thing to a sunnier spot... but all together it weighs well over a hundred lbs, and it's just not worth it to me for a blooming season that's going to last about 2 weeks.

I've found that photographs don't do these, or any cactus bloom, justice. Cactus flowers have a pearlescent sheen on their petals that is impossible to capture on film. But, you get the general idea, I'm sure...