Every few years or so I come to the conclusion now I’ve solved it: I have understood the meaning of life and human behavior and every time it is revealed to me soon afterwards I have not. At least I thought I was beginning to understand cacti but they have all turned out not what they seemed.
It is spring time and the ocotillo have sprouted their orange cone shaped tops while the barrel cacti are producing flowers. The blooms are exquisite and appear out of nowhere, as if someone came along and randomly stuck on fake blossoms regardless of context. Something is producing the allergies from hell; if I were up knowledgeable on the local flora I could tell you what is the culprit. To a sojourned Midwesterner like myself succulents look to have originated in outer space. Agaves produce (seemingly overnight) large 8ft tall flower stalks. I should take a botany course to learn to discriminate what is a native plan vs. a nasty invasive weed vs. a triffid.
Our backyard is in desperate in need of attendance. Once again the potted things have died. We can’t keep up on the watering. It’s time to wave the white flag and give up on growing anything but cacti. In three days we have visitors, both known for the gardening skills; we have lots to tidy up and replace before their arrival. Happily they are from the Midwest and won’t be able to identity anything we will hastily pot from Home Depot.
Just about everything in the yard has pricks and needles, some of them quite nasty. This makes movement around the yard hazardous. The pool man complains he can’t get at the apparati because he has to work around a prickly pear which is getting in his way. As it is one of the few ‘successful growers’ in the yard, I am dubious to move it.
Finally, I need to move the potted cacti away from the hot tub. They reach out in the night to chastise me for being out of doors without clothing. Ouch.
15 comments
April 8, 2012 at 4:00 PM
Will
Your description leaves me thinking of your garden as a cross between a garden with plants and a sculpture garden.
Here our cacti are mostly indoors and tend to be small. One that looks like a pincushion puts up lots of inch and a half tall flower stalks. Fritz’s Christmas cactus are in bloom throughout the year; one lot of flower fades and buds appear thereafter.
At the foot of our big English-style country garden is a large boulder with a depression on top. Fritz planted a succulent mini-garden in it that booms beautifully in summer and winters over very well.
April 8, 2012 at 6:00 PM
Will J
Alternate recommendation: Zen rock garden.
April 8, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Jay
I don’t even try – Being naturally lazy I do my gardening at the Farmer’s Market. Nephew Jon put a prairie in the back corner of my yard but it takes care of itself. Good luck avoid the pricks (Cactus that is)
April 8, 2012 at 7:38 PM
anne marie in philly
“Just about everything in the yard has pricks and needles” – damn! lucky you! so many pricks, so little time! 🙂
spouse’s BFF is a member of our local cactus & succulent society; he could probably identify every plant in your yard, since he grows them for prize-winning entry in the philly flower show. if you like, I can put you in touch with the BFF.
April 8, 2012 at 9:55 PM
Erik Rubright
You could always paint the ground green, then invest in artificial trees and flowers. No one would ever be the wiser…. 😉
April 8, 2012 at 10:53 PM
wcs
“Let me point something out to you,” said the cactus.
April 9, 2012 at 3:20 AM
Mitchell Block
Oh, yes, those pricks can be dangerous. Seriously, when we had our hotel in Palm Springs, we carefully researched desert plants that wouldn’t attack our guests.
I’ve heard that allergies are even more a problem now in Arizona because of all the transplanted people from the east who have transplanted their own local flora, bringing all the allergens others thought they had escaped.
April 9, 2012 at 5:19 AM
Fritz Bell
So, what about the ‘pool guy’? Is there a story there? And why not!
April 9, 2012 at 7:18 AM
Cameron
I hope you get a handle on your allergies!
You do live in a desert, after all, where cactus is King.
Phoenix also happens to be a place where many “imports” abound, especially mulberry trees, which are notorious for allergies.
Ironic that a place originally sought as a haven for respiratory ailments is now one of the worst spots for allergies, and bad air quality. Sacramento is similar — I’m glad I live 80 miles up the hill! 🙂
April 9, 2012 at 8:44 AM
Greg
Cacti are beautiful when viewed from a distance. I dislike the thorns and spikes and hidden spiders.
April 9, 2012 at 9:57 AM
D@vid
One man’s pleasure is another’s pain…. I just spent $30 to put together three pots with cactus in them… to remind me of my trip… and where I’d rather be.
April 9, 2012 at 9:57 AM
jefferyrn
Cacti….I am still thinking about san clothes Spo. Ouch indeed!
April 9, 2012 at 1:13 PM
Archguy
Ouch indeed, again! Just the thought gives me a stab of pain, and not the good kind.
April 9, 2012 at 7:43 PM
Brent
I love the ocotillo in bloom. And while not a cactus, the palo verde is simply stunning when it is in bloom. I miss the desert in the spring.
June 2, 2012 at 6:19 AM
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