Reds, compared

Amaryllis Number 21 is open, named Grand Diva.



As I mentioned a couple days ago, this is another step in my informal quest to find The Best Red One.  Here is Grand Diva (left) compared to Queen of Night (right).  How convenient that both are blooming at the same time!



Grand Diva is slightly darker red, and Queen of Night is slightly bigger.  I really like the color on Grand Diva, but neither one wins the title of The Best Red One.  I think that still goes to Red Pearl.

Busting out all over

Cacti and succulents... I've got to say, they are very rewarding.  Somehow I had it in my head that it was hard to get a cactus to bloom.

I have too many blooming or almost blooming right now to give each its own post- I would never catch up.  So here's an anthology version of what caught my eye yesterday.

Mammillaria elegans, native to Mexico, is...dare I say it... elegant.  Tidy white spines, a compact globe form, and pretty pink flowers.  The scarred ring is where the horrible strawflower was hot glued in the center growth point when I got it last year.  I guess the damage makes it easy to see how much the plant has grown in a year.  There is a complete ring of buds, a crown.







Next is Pachyveria 'Little Jewel'.  This is an intergeneric hybrid between Pachyphytum and Echeveria like the Pachyveria Claire I showed a while ago.  I really like the way the leaves on this one look faceted, and the flowers are lovely.







Next is a repeat show for the blog.  I first posted about this Mammillaria backebergiana at the end of March, when only two flowers were open.  Now there are six more and the original two have faded.  This show will last a good long time.



Next is Lewisia longipetala 'Little Raspberry'.  This is a commercial cultivar of a native Northwest plant.  It's glorious.  I have it growing inside in a pot for now, but may plant it outside after it's done blooming.  Maybe not, though.  It requires excellent drainage, so it might be better off staying in the pot even when it goes outside.



Then there's this little beauty.  This is Schwantesia borcherdsii, a mesemb native to southern Africa like the Lithops and Pleiospilos and all those other cool little plants.  This is a very beautiful flower, with its silky yellow petals, and much bigger than I expected it to be!





Last but not least, another repeat.  The Echeveria Ramillette is in full bloom now, and so pretty.  Some of the older flowers have faded, but the tips of the inflorescences are still going strong.



Whew.  So there you go for today.

(P.S.  See that blurry round cactus in the top right corner of that last picture?  Yes, those pink things are all buds!  Stay tuned!)

Turns out I did, really...

Can you guess what this pile of boxes and lumber will become?  I'm very excited about it!!!

Sprung

When I went out to hang a load of laundry on the line on Tuesday, part of the yard was still in shadow.  It had been a frosty night, and this clump of violets in the lawn was stunning. The sun was on them, but the frost hadn't melted yet.

It was so beautiful.



This has been a tremendous year for violets in my yard.  Some say they are weeds, but I love them.  They only bloom for a short while in the early spring, so I enjoy them while they are out.

I have purple, lavender, pink, and white ones around the property.  The front flower bed is currently a sea of white violets.  It's a little hard to tell from this photo (it's easier if you click to embiggen), but all those white specks are violets.  I've never seen this many before.



This is the beautiful bed that I love watching as summer progresses.  It has columbine, iris, flax, daylilies, golden currants, foxglove, lavender, hens and chicks, blue-eyed grass, hosta, and I don't know what all else.  It's always changing and always lovely.

And just because, here's a shot of my favorite daffodil in the yard.  At least my favorite today.

Santiago

Amaryllis Number 20!  This is Santiago.



It's another new one this year, and another of the smaller trumpet-shaped varieties.



Very pretty, and fragrant as well!

Easter cactus

My NoID pink Easter cactus is blooming again.  This is always such a beautiful sign of spring.



The flowers are so pretty.



I've had this plant about five years.  I started it from a two-segment cutting, and it has now filled two 4-inch pots.

Queen of Night

Amaryllis number 19 is called Queen of Night.



I bought a bunch of red varieties of amaryllis last fall, because I like red ones and am on a quest to find "The Best Red One."  One that has big flowers that are dark, dark red.



So far in my informal survey of the solid reds, I've seen Red Lion, Red Pearl, the NOID red that was supposed to be Hercules (which is probably Red Lion), and Queen of Night.



Queen of Night is very pretty, with it's velvety red ruffly flowers.  I like it and it's a keeper.



But I don't think it's The Best Red One.  So far Red Pearl is still ahead as my favorite... but I have buds almost open on Grand Diva, and they are looking very, very dark.  Maybe open tomorrow or Monday!