Look at how beautiful this cactus in bloom is! Photo taken Thursday.

I am discovering flowers where we have never had flowers before. Take the cactus above for example. It hasn’t bloomed in the three years we have lived here. But this year, plants I didn’t know could flower are bursting with blossoms.

This is what the cactus looked like Wednesday:

It’s beautiful with buds. But I wasn’t ready for the next day and how spectacular it would be (photo above.)

What about invasive plants?

The front page article for my community newsletter was a request to get rid of invasive plants. The two species to eradicate were Globe Chamomile (also known as Stinknet) and Desert Broom. Although Desert Broom is native to the Sonoran Desert, it’s aggressive and takes over, hence the need to get rid of it. I researched Stinknet and Desert Broom and found photos online for the newsletter.

One of our neighbors received a letter from the Scottsdale Fire Department to clean up their yard and to get rid of Globe Chamomile. Apparently, it can be a fire hazard as well as taking over land from native plants.

I haven’t seen Stinknet in real life but I’ve read about it from Erin on Existential Ergonomics. Also my graphic designer friends who make up my “lunch bunch” talked about Stinknet at our last lunch. I’m keeping my eyeballs peeled for it. I mistakenly thought brittle brush was Stinknet.

I keep hearing, “It’s the little yellow balls.” Well, brittle brush looks like yellow balls, because the petals are falling off with hotter days.

Imagine my surprise when I was taking photos of the beautiful cactus blooms and looked at a pot next to it and saw this:

Stinknet took over a planter in my backyard!

I sent the photo to my lunch bunch and got this reply:

“It’s insidious and will grow anywhere….

“Masquerading as a plant worthy of a pot 😂 is taking it up a notch!”

Since yesterday, I’ve found it growing next to our trash bins. The plant originated in South Africa, made it’s way to Australia and Riverside County, California before heading to Arizona. I never heard of it when I lived in Riverside County — it must not have made it’s way into the Coachella Valley.

I’ve been instructed to wear gloves, dig it up, throw it in a plastic bag, tie it up tightly and throw it away. I want to thoroughly inspect our yard for Stinknet. But then I just got an email from my next door neighbor that he found a large rattler in his backyard! Yikes!

Have you heard of Stinknet before? What invasive plants do you have?