My hike yesterday was full of wildflowers! I mostly got photos of cactus flowers, but they certainly count as wildflowers.

We’ve had rain recently, so the plants are responding by putting out blooms. The cactii, especially, are very opportunistic, but I think all wildflowers do this to a certain extent. In April, we got 1.9 inches of rain at our house and in May, so far, we’ve had 1.7.

The landscape is quite green too. It hasn’t been hot enough yet to dry everything out and turn it brown.

First up is a photo of black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta). These plants are about a foot tall and occur in patches throughout our property. These have petals which are completely yellow, but sometimes you find some with brown in the petals.

Black-eyed Susan Flowers

Here’s a photo of a thistle (Cirsium flodmanii) in bloom, but you can also see other flowers in earlier stages of development. The plant leaves are spiky and you should be careful around them, but the flowers are pretty and butterflies like them.

Thistle Flowers

This is a prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) flower bud, just about to fully open. The flower has orange in it. You’ll also see reds and combinations. Notice the two little insect friends on it. Actually, I think one is eating the other! The flower is next to two others which have already bloomed. The remaining part will become a prickly pear.

Prickly Pear Flower

Here’s another prickly pear cactus flower bud, in an early stage of opening. This one is completely yellow and you can see two right behind it that are not as fully-developed.

Prickly Pear Flower

This yellow one is completely open. There are a couple of insects on this one; a tiny one inside the flower on the right and a small grasshopper on the outside of the flower on the left. It does seem like a cool place to hang out.

Here’s another fully-opened one and I managed to catch a honey bee crawling in it! The bee seemed to want to make sure it got fully covered in pollen. It would dive into the flower and circle around.

Prickly Pear Flower

Finally, here’s a trio of lace cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii) flowers. They are simply beautiful. I’m always impressed that such a small plant, about 4 inches tall, can put on such a display. It must be worth it!

Lace Cactus Flowers