Cactus flowers seem to be blooming earlier than usual this year, and ever so abundant!

The Claret Cup Hedge Hog bloomed in mid-May this season, and now the Beaver Tail is in full swing. In stock are several species with many flower buds on each plant, yellows, pinks, cream-salmon, chrome-orange, green, the colors are spectacular and lure the garden visitors into the mythical desert wonderland that is easy to create with these cold hardy, drought resistant, carefree cactus wonders.

The yuccas, too, are blooming earlier and more abundantly this year. Some plants have over twenty stems rising. Plant them in proximity to create the mythology of the desert right in your own yard.

Currently Dry Creek has a limited supply of many different cold hardy cacti in stock. They grow well in containers, too.

This little Hedge Hog, from Dry Creek Garden Nursery, has been in the ground for eight years. It's a small variety that grows slowly but surely from year to year. The flowers are smaller and more subtle than many Hedge Hog varieties, and is a strange copper yellow green color.

Another cactus that has similar springtime flowers is the Green Pitaya (Echinocereus viridiflorus). The cactus stays small, growing to a height of two to three inches, eventually filling a space between six and twelve inches. This cactus, like most, enjoys very hot, dry conditions in full sun in poor, well draining soils. In other words, it is very easy to care for and conducive to our region of the world.

Currently Dry Creek has a limited supply of Green Pitaya and other cold hardy cacti in stock. This is the time to buy, too, as the cactus sell fast and the blooming season has just begun.

Since we've been having warmer than "normal" temperatures this spring, the cactus flowers have started blooming a bit earlier than usual. The deep red Claret Cup blooms are already almost over while the bright orange Hedge Hog flowers are now in full force. And, these beautiful pink Beaver Tail flowers are just beginning.

For cactus enthusiasts, the blooming season of late spring and early summer is the best time of the year. The flowers are incredibly beautiful and as they open in the early morning, they seem to conjure up the reasons why we love living in the desert: hot days, warm nights, perfect clouds, clear night skies. Live seems hopeful, even fantastic, when the cactus flowers are blooming.