Notocactus

Notocactus in flower on the back balcony of my house in Hayes.  11 July 2011.

Happy Christmas! And to go with it, a colourful photo of one of the cacti that sit outside the back of my house in the summer and come indoors to a back windowsill in the winter. (The back of my house faces south.) Slugs love these flowers, though the rest of the plant is too tough for them, and I have to move it out of their reach if I want to benefit from this display.

It's not in flower now; this pic was in July. I think this is a species of Notocactus, though it's obviously not the same as the other cactus I posted in September.

For the first time in the 20-odd years I have had it, this plant put out another flower out of season, in November. Here's a closeup of the centre of that flower.

Out-of-season Notocactus flower on my back windowsill.  18 November 2011.