A Cactus Tale

I don't know anything about gardening. But thankfully, I have a friend, Ron, who does. He collects cacti. Two summers ago, we went to their house in Zambales before going home from Anawangin Cove. I asked for one of his cacti because it grew flowers and I love flowers. He gave me one. This is how it looks like when it blooms:

April 2010

It blooms during the summer and the flower only opens during afternoons. Last summer, however, I was super busy that when the cactus bloomed, I wasn't home during afternoons. Sad. And I was even looking forward to it by checking on the bud almost everyday haha.

April 2011

I was happy though because it had a lot of scions (I hope I'm using the word "scion" right. Look at those "mini-cacti" above). However, recently, when I checked on my cactus, all the scions were gone. I dunno if someone at home removed them or they fell by themselves. To think that I was excited to cut and re-pot them. :(

August 2011

However, one thing that makes me happy is that one of the scions I re-potted last year has grown up a little.

August 2011

Also, last summer, Ron posted these on Facebook:

They're dragonfruit flowers. One thing about them is that the flowers only bloom one night and then die the morning after. Naturally, I told Ron I wanted them because the flowers are so pretty so he gave me cuttings when he went back to Manila. I was expecting only one but he gave me four. Now here's how they look like:

Dragonfruit: August 22, 2011

I honestly don't know where I'm going to place them when they grow up hahaha. Oh well~ let's think about how to cross the bridge when we get there.

One thing I love about these cacti though is that they're very low-maintenance and Ron has already tempered them. Perfect for a busy person like me. Before, Ron gave me a brain cactus but it immediately died on me because I left it in the open when I went to school and then it rained. These cacti, however, even if I leave them in the rain, they don't die. They're accustomed to it.