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.
