It was an excellent spring for cactus blossoms, especially cholla,1 which blooms bright pink in the Sandia foothills.
I love its buds nearly as much as the flowers themselves, which often have a prodigious dusting of pollen.
There were more than a few mornings when various cholla blossoms were spectacularly backlit, accompanied by Apache plume.
Prickly pears in the Sandia foothills sport yellow blossoms.2 In yet another example of the tenacity of life, the huge prickly pear plant below is growing from one of a group of large boulders. I was standing fairly close to it when I shot the photo and yes, most of the prickly pear was above me.
Here’s the same impressive prickly pear in context.
Many prickly pear blossoms are solid yellow, but my favorites are those with orange centers.
Both start out as peach-colored buds. Pollinators apparently feel no need to wait for the buds to actually open.
Long after I thought I’d seen the last of the claret cup blossoms for the year, I stumbled upon a few more high up in the mountains. They were nestled amongst holly leaves,3 some of which were turning almost exactly the same shade of red as the flowers.
Below is a larger area, with a higher flower-to-holly-leaves ratio.
Cholla is pronounced CHOY-uh.
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that Sandia foothills cholla, which blooms bright pink, has yellow fruits; and prickly pear, which blooms yellow, conversely has deep pink-purple fruits. (The fruits show up in late summer and early fall.)
Depending upon whom you ask, it’s called either Oregon grape or grape holly.
I always enjoy your posts, and especially your footnotes. Actually, especially your photos!
Yes!