The Beholder
When we first moved into our new home we were gifted with spineless cactus. We put one on either side of the entrance to our driveway. Eventually, they outgrew the space. I dug them up and moved them to the back lots along the south fence. There they are thriving. To say they are comfortable in their space is an understatement. They are a great windbreak and deer deterrent.
This week they are blooming and it’s a sight to see. There are yellow blossoms everywhere with all manner of nectar lovers and cactus lovers in attendance for the feast. For instance, the flowers and pads are covered with little groups of Cactus Bugs (Chelinidea vittiger). It’s nice to be able to feed so many, and they’re not a great bother to me or anyone else. They do help keep the cactus in check, although I might have to talk with them about that, and they’re a food source for lizards, spiders and birds.
And that pretty much sums up how I like to run my gardens, full throttle and open to all. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but when you have some space, why not. In addition to supporting a wild group of spineless cacti the back lots are an unmowed stand of all manner of grasses and wildflowers. Proof, I suppose, that if beauty is in the eye of the beholder and since I’m the beholder, you get what I and my arborist son behold and love. Wild things doing wild things.