With their signature pointy, green buds Prickly Pear cactus begin to make way for their annual bloom staring late May. It’s when you start to these little fellas. The timing is perfect as the Claret Cups have pretty much wound down for the year. It’s a perfect opportunity to redirect my photography efforts on these cactus flower blooms!
Living in a different part of town for this season’s bloom cycle, there was some exploration involved to determine which plants may yield their flowers. As it’s a favorite to head out of foot whenever possible, even the grounds of my current digs proved to be relatively fertile to find these plants in their flowering prime!
When It Begins…
As noted above, about late May you start to see buds taking form. They are very cool to photograph. And given Prickly Pear cactus flowers come in a variety of colors, sometimes you never quite know what you’ll get until they actually open. That’s definitely part of the fun!
With our incredibly dry winter, and now into summer with little moisture, one could not help but notice some of these hearty plants looked stressed. Mother Nature has been mighty stingy with moisture this year for sure!
The plants that appeared to be in the best shape were partially hidden under pine trees. The shade clearly gave them a reprieve! I recall this attribute of the Prickly Pear cactus plants I used to photograph at the Xeric gardens in Colorado.
For the record, it’s not only the flower buds that are emerging. The plants also give was to the formation of new paddles. In their vibrant green color, they can look like giving birth to aliens!
Once They Get Going
Once the bloom gets going around the end of May into June, it can be rather fast and furious. Flowers will slowly open daily and it can be tricky because you cannot be in multiple places at once! That and the fact that they do not fully open until the heat of afternoon with lots of sun. Patience is necessary – but it gives you the opportunity to observe them as the flowers slowly unfold. It’s like Nature is in slow-motion. And in the right lighting, the flower petals have a translucent appearance.
Color wise, I did not get to photograph any of the pink flowers this year. My timing was off for those as that color tends to bloom before the yellow varieties. That and the fact that living in a different location, I did not encounter that color variety in this neck of the woods. And by the time I made it back to the Cactus Presentation Garden, those had already bloomed. Such is life in the world of a photographer chasing blooming cactus plants! I did however capture the watermelon color as in the image at the top of the post. Very pretty and unusual!
Plenty of Yellow Prickly Pear Cactus Flowers
There is definitely an abundance of shades of yellows of these flowers. Some are a pale yellow while others are a bright lemon yellow. But my favorite remains the yellow flowers with hints of orange on the inside. They are so striking and beautiful IMHO. And they’re all just a bit different in their markings which makes for lots of little surprises.
Even with the notes I made from last season in terms of timing and location, I still was not able to get everywhere I wanted to photograph these flowering cactus plants. June can be like a photo frenzy trying to capture images of these beauties because the Cholla are beginning to appear too! One would need to be out almost every day in June in the heat of the afternoon New Mexico sun which is a lot. Thus sometimes you have to choose your battles – so to speak. I did make copious notes for next year…
What I did do new for this year was film some video with my new phone!
Sharing the Space with Bees
Given the volume of bees that descend on these blooms, they too have been awaiting their arrival. So as a photographer, you need to share the space with these pollinators. The bees dive-bomb head first into these flowers. It’s fascinating to watch as all you see is their little butts sticking out. It can be quite manic. Then occasionally they will pause and just chill like this whole pollinating thing is too much!
As a photographer, sharing the space with bees makes it that much more fun. Then as furious as it all was, it comes to an end.
Thank-you and here’s to next season pricklys!! Time for the Cholla 🙂