Yellow
Purple prickly pear (Opuntia macrocentra) flower
Flower buds cover this purplish cactus. The first two have opened, to much enthusiasm on my part. I’ve never had a prickly pear bloom before, and when I first saw the flowers budding I mistook them for new pad buds. A happy mistake!
It’s a stunning flower, reminiscent of a water lily with its papery, triangular petals.
A close-up look
The first golden zexmenia flowers are punctuating mounds of new, green foliage.
Rocket-shaped columbines offer a paler yellow in the shade.
Yellow is usually bold and bright in my garden, from damianita to zexmenia to daylilies and black-eyed Susans. The lighter shades, which appear in columbines and, later, ‘Helvola’ water lilies, look cool and refined. Either way, I like yellow.
AAAH! Your photos take my breath away. Who would ever imagine an ugly prickly pear could produce such a beautiful flower?!!!
Not ugly. Just different. And painful if you’re not careful. —Pam
Oh wow… those flowers are gorgeous! Do you think it’s blooming now that it’s more pot-bound?
This is the first spring (I think) that I’ve even had this Santa Rita prickly pear. But I’m comparing it to the generic green, spineless prickly pear that I have planted in pots and soil in a couple of other places in the garden, and so far, nada on any of them. Maybe Santa Rita is just more colorful in general. Or maybe the gardener pays for spineless cacti by sacrificing flowers? —Pam
The Yellow and Red color of the Prickly Pear flower is awesome. At first I thought it was a tulip before I scrolled the picture down in that first side view shot.
The early flowers are starting to turn a bit orange. I’ll get another picture up soon. —Pam