Candy-Can!

At last all my pampering paid off! My “Candy-can” (Echinopsis trichocereus x ‘Cherry Red’)blooms spectacularly! Each blossom is about the size of an English teacup and smells faintly of strawberries.

 

The fuss I create over my cacti is a testament to my anal retentiveness. In winter, I blanket each specimen to protect it from frost, being certain to remove the coverings during daylight to permit adequate sunlight and ventilation. Since I'd be bored with nothing to fuss over during the summer, I rig up artificial shade to keep the plants from cooking under the intense New Mexico sun.

 

I wish that all of my attentiveness would pay off in the form of startlingly lovely photographs to match the blossoms, but no such luck. So, here’s a pretty picture ganked from my folk’s website:

Post-Birthday Gratitude

For the past month I’ve been playing with my birthday gift--a generous contribution to gardening budget (thank you Tennisfiend!). Every fall and spring, I spend several hours daily tending to my beloved rock and flower gardens.

This fall, I was too wiped out for my ritual devotions, resulting in the mass extinction of some of my lovelier specimens. So, I was especially delighted with the gift and have been working overtime restore and improve my neglected garden. Unfortunately, the New Mexico climate has shifted back into “hot mode,” so I am exiled indoors for the next several months.

May I continue briefly with some post-birthday happiness? Much appreciation to for lunch and gardening support. Thank you and family for the lovely blue flowers and enigmatic poem. And congratulations to for the history making birthday remembrance! And finally, word to the Moosh for the DVDs. I have been aching for a copy Charisma for nearly a year now and the remastered, digitized, pimped-out new version of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, all!