The weather in the Chicago area has finally gotten to spring-like. This meant one thing- I needed to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden again. I visit there several times during the year, but the last time I was there was in March for their Orchid Show. Visiting there gets me some much-needed exercise, and I get to explore one of my favorite photographic mediums- macro photography. The world is totally different when viewed through a macro lens. Details emerge that you do not see unless you are looking very close.
The gardens are beautiful, if you haven’t visited, it’s a must. And today’s weather was perfect, low 70s, sunny, great day for a walk in nature. The dahlias are not out yet, nor are the lily pads, we’re too early for them. But, there are still some great tulips to see. And I saw some (but they’re obviously not what I am writing about). Invariably, my visits to the Botanic Garden include a visit to their greenhouses. My favorite, by far, is the arid greenhouse. They have a great variety of cacti from around the world. No matter what season you are visiting, there is something interesting there. And, logically, if you’re there in winter, the arid greenhouse is a great place to warm up!
Now, while I do visit there several times during the year, I usually miss the blooms of the cactus flowers. I have either been there too early or too late- that sums up how my timing works out for most things, actually. Today, luckily, my timing worked out well. Several cactus flowers have already bloomed, and were still flowering. Others were very close to blooming.
Some of the blooms are just about ready to bloom- the Echinopsis “Apricot Glow” cactus has many buds that are going to open up during the next few days, perhaps even tomorrow. Others, like the echinocactus grusonii “Mexican Golden Barrel Cactus” and the opuntia Santa Rita Tubac “Purple Prickly Pear” Cactus have already bloomed. The flowers in the slideshow are from these varieties. And, one Apricot Glow cactus flower has bloomed (the photo is in the slideshow). But as you can see from a couple of the wider-angle photos, there are many more which are about to bloom. As these other buds are so close to blooming, a return trip will be happening very soon!