Purple prickly pear (Opuntia macrocentra) flower
Blazing! No, I’m not describing the temperatures in Austin yet. It’s been remarkably temperate for the past few weeks, and today has been lovely too, about 80 degrees with a cool breeze. No, it’s the late-spring light that’s blazing, causing certain flowers and leaves to ignite with colorful incandescence at midday.
I explored the garden just after lunchtime today to see what held its own in the strong light and tried to capture it on camera.

Purple prickly pear’s flowers glowed as if lit from within.

The pomegranate’s orangey red blossoms seemed molten in the light.

‘Carefree Beauty’ is as tarty a rose as they come, and it holds its own in Austin’s near-tropical sunlight. Pity the pale-pink roses in this light, or plant them where you can enjoy them in the soft light of evening or early morning.

My new gopher plant euphorbia is cool green, but I like the way it glows in the midday light.

Another look at the prickly pear. This flower is fading to pale orange, but bright purple edges each cactus pad.
Austin may not have the clear desert light of Georgia O’Keefe’s Santa Fe, but we have a powerful sun. It pays to have a few plants that can blaze away, not fade away, when that spotlight turns on.