Echinocactus texensis blooms

[smweaver]

After a long cold winter dormancy, all of my plants of this species are starting to produce their spring blooms. This plant, at nearly one foot wide, is the biggest, and here's the first of the buds to open. The scent is very nice, although not terribly strong. The problem with that combination is that the enticing fragrance makes you want to push your nose down into the flower--and the surrounding spines are not very forgiving.