• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Cactus are Blooming at May Dreams Gardens

June 28, 2008 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

The foliage looks like Geranium, doesn’t it, but what is that flower?

It’s a flower most people wouldn’t expect to see in a Zone 5 garden.

It’s a cactus flower.

This is an Opuntia, Prickly Pear Cactus.

I was all ‘big talk’ about how I was going to cut these back earlier this spring. They were spreading and heading into the nearby Geraniums.

They are still spreading and mixing in with the Geraniums.

I am posting this picture to assure fellow garden bloggers that:

– I don’t always follow through on what I say I am going to do, even if I proclaim it to the world on my blog. Though I try to do what I say I am going to do if I “proclaim” it.

– Not everything is all neat and tidy in my gardens. Far from it. I should have a big weeding class in my garden. I could invite all kinds of new gardeners over and show them the “proper” way to weed and use my own garden as their classroom. It would be a “hoe” lot of fun.

– Cactus does grow where it snows and gets cold.

Somehow, when experienced gardeners, like I think I might be at this point, post about things not going particularly according to plan or about not following through on cutting back plants at the proper time, it helps new gardeners feel better about their own gardens and gardening efforts.

I hope you new gardeners feel better now.

******

Vanillalotus is the lucky winner of the Ethel gardening gloves giveaway.

I asked Robin(Bumblebee), who was on Plurk at the same time I was, to choose a number between 1 and 40, and she chose 39. SuburbanGardener, aka Mr. McGregor’s Daughter and RedDirtRambling aka Dee were also on that thread so they can vouch for the randomness of the pick.

For those who didn’t win, you can still get 10% off an order of Ethel Gloves until July 22nd by using the discount code ‘Maydreams’. Thank you to all who entered!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gardening, perennials

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Monica the Garden Faerie says

    June 28, 2008 at 3:10 am

    Carol, I hope my little prickly pear blooms soon. I’d take my computer outside to show it yours as inspiration, but I don’t have a laptop! I’ve seen prickly pear as far north as Saskatoon! 🙂 I love how it scrunches up over winter.
    ~ Monica

    Reply
  2. Lisa at Greenbow says

    June 28, 2008 at 4:46 am

    Hearing that you don’t always follow through even makes us seasoned gardeners feel a hoe lot better.

    Love seeing your cactus blooming. I saw a big pot of this blooming during a garden tour last weekend. Such beautiful blooms.

    Reply
  3. Unknown says

    June 28, 2008 at 6:40 am

    Yes thank you, I DO feel better now. And are you not glad that you didn´t cut back the cactus because I think your plants did a succesful weaving act.
    Greetings, M

    Reply
  4. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    June 28, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    Thanks for the shout out. Here’s where we differ – I (almost)never announce in advance what I’m going to do because there’s a good chance it won’t get done. We still haven’t pulled out the Yew hedge yet or put up a new fence. Prickly Pears are so uncommon & Geraniums are everywhere – why not leave the cactus alone? It looks so healthy & happy.

    Reply
  5. The Diva says

    June 28, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    So true about intentions and follow through. I thought you were going to link to us and write that we kept you from weeding because we were all on Plurk. Thanks for the linkage love and congrats to Vanillalotus.~~Dee

    Reply
  6. Gail says

    June 28, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    Don’t you love Opuntia…I’m sure you wear gloves near him. He is prickly!
    Thanks for the contest, it was fun and th discount is nice.

    Reply
  7. Annie in Austin says

    June 28, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    Oh, great! Carol in the middle of Indiana has a blooming prickly pear and Annie in the middle of Texas has cactus that have never made one flower.

    The geranium/Cactus combination is fun – bet you’re glad you left it alone ;-]

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    Reply
  8. WiseAcre says

    June 28, 2008 at 8:31 pm

    Glad you left the catus alone. At least you were rewarded for not following through. All I have to show in my garden this year is weeds. I got a good start then got sidetracked. Now there’s so many weeds I’d rather go fishing than look at the yard.

    Reply
  9. Rock rose says

    June 28, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    Now be fair. If you can grow prickly pear in Indiana, we should be able to grow geraniums in Austin.
    Jenny

    Reply
  10. Carol Michel says

    June 29, 2008 at 1:39 am

    The Garden Fairie, I’d be happy if my prickly pear could encourage yours to bloom. Aren’t you north of me?

    Lisa at Greenbow, These are beautiful blooms but it is a “one week wonder”. The blooms don’t last all that long so I wouldn’t give it a prominent spot in the garden.

    Marianne, It is a successful co-existence between the two plants, as you point out.

    Mr. McGregor’s Daughter, You haven’t pulled out that yew hedge yet? What are you waiting on, LOL?

    Dee/RedDirtRamblings, Now, wouldn’t it be nice if weeding were as fun and easy as plurking?

    Gail, This prickly pear cactus has already ruined one pair of gloves with its pricklies. I use tongs if I have to pick up a piece of it.

    Annie in Austin, I am glad I left this combo alone as I wanted some gardeners who think my gardens are neat and uniform, to see that plants do touch each other and look a bit messy. YOUR prickly pear cactus isn’t blooming?

    Wiseacre, it is about that time in the summer when we can tell if we are winning or the weeds are.

    Lancashire Rose, I don’t make up the rules, I just grow the cactus!

    Thanks all for the nice comments,
    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

    Reply
  11. Unknown says

    June 29, 2008 at 10:52 pm

    Nice to see the Opuntia flowers, Carol! I don’t have them here because the fog would just make them unhappy, but people do grow them successfully elsewhere in the province.

    Reply
  12. Sherry at the Zoo says

    July 1, 2008 at 11:46 am

    I love your cactus. It’s so out of place here in INdiana that it’s somewhat of a pleasant surprise when you round that corner of your house.

    Your little sister

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,048)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT