Monday, September 6, 2021

Queen of the Night Cactus in Bloom

These Queen of the Night cactus draw me in with their beauty. Twenty years ago neighbors dug this cactus up at my house and planted them in their yard. I switched from a front yard cactus garden to one having flowering shrubs. It had become too difficult and dare I say, painful, for me to weed the cactus garden. Yes, the cactus stabbed me! My flowering shrubs need little water and are mostly natives, like California Fuchsia and Native Penstemon.  Meanwhile the Queen of the Night is thriving at the neighbors' home.


These beauties open up fully in early evening so I could take these photos. I think they are pollinated by bees and moths and bats. The flowers are six inches across.


28 comments:

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Absolutely beautiful!

Tabor said...

I had forgotten how lovely cactus blossoms can be.

The Feminine Energy said...

Oh how absolutely gorgeous, Terra! Thank you so much for sharing. ~Andrea xoxoxo

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Gorgeous flowers!

Linda Reeder said...

So beautiful. It's ironic that cacti have the most beautiful flowers.

Wanda said...

My dear friend of over 75 years lives in Tucson, and she has such a lovely cactus garden. Lovely photos.

happyone said...

Oh that is pretty!!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Beautiful Terra!

Ann said...

Wow, they're beautiful.

Granny Marigold said...

The Queen of the Night Cactus is stunning. Nice that it thrives in spite of having been moved to a new location.

dori said...

These are really wonderful flowers on this cactus with the good name Queen of the night.

Its such a good friendship between neighbours to give this plant a good home. I'm shure, that your bushes are also very nice. Not everyone can look after a cactus perfect, so it is better to give this lovely dragon to the right peple.

Mari said...

I'm glad you can still enjoy them without getting stabbed. They are beautiful!

Miss Merry said...

The cactus is lovely! I always enjoy flowers and plants in my neighbors yards knowing I don't have to take care of them, lol. This is a beauty!

Margaret D said...

Cacti usually have beautiful flowers, yours, it's lovely.

Marie Smith said...

That is the most beautiful flowering cactus I have ever seen.

Marcia said...

They are lovely. My sister in law had to relearn gardening when she moved to AZ from NY. She has become an expert at cactus gardening. I bet she has one of these in her yard.

angryparsnip said...

Beautiful blooms and lovely photo of the cactus garden.

Betsy said...

That is such a beautiful cactus. I can see why your neighbors were happy to have it. It was very generous of you to let them have it.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy

Linda said...

I love these! I'm like you, though. I admire them but I don't have any of my own. My Sherry has quite a collection of both succulents and house plants. I do good to keep simple things alive here in Texas!

Jeevan said...

That's beautiful, like a bun on a women's head.

Ida said...

Wow those are awesome. My mom use to grow cacti in her greenhouse and they were always fascinating to see. Love the blooms on these.

DawnTreader said...

The cactus does looks lovely when in bloom but I can well imagine it being difficult to weed a cactus garden...!

Diana said...

This is beautiful!! I grew cacti growing up, got rid of them when I had kids ... one of the boys fell off his tricycle into the cacti patch, wow, what a time pulling the spikes out of his little arm! Be blessed, Terra!

oldgreymareprimitives said...

Beautiful!

Aritha V. said...

Beautiful I love cacti. But here in the Netherlands we haven't cacti in the gardens. Amazing flowers. Thank for sharing.

Debbie said...

i have read about these flowering cacti, they are really beautiful!!

Dee said...

Dear Terra, having lived in the Midwest all my life, I've seen only a few cacti plants . . . and never this one. How lovely. Thank you for sharing. And your story just illustrates for me how we adjust as we age and embrace new things and new ways. Admirable! Peace.

Christine said...

They are beautiful!