Cactus Gardening
While it is true to say that cactus gardens are mostly grown in the desert southwestern part of the United States but there is nothing to stop you having a cactus garden anywhere, if you can provide the right conditions. People who are unfamiliar with cactus plants, assume they’re just an ugly, prickly, almost alien looking thing that crops up in the hottest and dryest parts of the world but I would not agree with that view.
Cactus plants do grow wild in the desert southwest, and they thrive in the extreme heat and drought conditions you see there but this is one of the things that makes them so wonderful to use in a home garden. For anyone unfamiliar with cactus plants most likely will be unaware that they can produce some really beautiful flowers. Most cactus plants will produce flowers though often quite rarely, and most of the plants also put on a wonderful color display throughout the year too.
Most of the flower blooms you see on cactus plants are similar to more cultivated plants too. Not only are the flower buds themselves similar in shape to other types of plant flowers, but you’ll find a wide variety of often quite strong colors available for the cactus flowers too.
A prickly pear cactus for instance, can create flower blooms which look a bit like tulips or roses. You might see some that are peach and white, or some that are solid red. And these cactus plants are beautiful with large flowers sticking up on each sharp spine. Not only do these cactus plants create flower blooms though, the Prickly Pear cactus also changes color throughout the year. Sometimes it’s a pale green color, and sometimes it will turn pink. Still other times you’ll see the cactus pads turn a deep purple color too.
Prickly pear cactus are also edible, much like most cactus plants are actually, and it produces fruit pods in addition to flowers throughout the year. Both the fruit and the cactus pads can be eaten. Some people fry them with butter, while others will make cactus jelly and jam from the pads.
There are many cactus plants which grow quite tall – over 15 feet in some cases – and there are plenty which grow small as well. Most will spread themselves out over time though too, so you have to be careful not to plant them too closely when creating a cactus garden.
Cactus plants usually only need about an inch of water every one to three months, so watering – or not watering rather – a cactus garden is one of the most difficult things for gardeners to accept. If you water a cactus garden too much though, the plants will actually die off. Instead, you have to make sure the cactus stay quite dry. If you live in an area that gets regular rain, you may even have to create a container based cactus garden or build a shelter over them to grow them in a dry spot while it’s raining outside.
