Chris LewandoThrillers / suspense / fantasy
← Life in Ireland

NOTES FROM A LIFE IN IRELAND

Cacti, a spiny story

I have a secret passion for cacti. A visitor from South America asked 'why?' But, really who knows why we like the things we do? With me, it was accidental, three tiny cacti being given to me as a fun present when I was young. Even I didn’t expect to find them fascinating enough to become a hobby, at that point. The amazing thing about those plants is, they didn’t die from teenage neglect, hence surviving long enough to interest me! It’s the pretty fluffy ones you have to beware of, like this little guy, whose sneaky spines have hooks that break off in unsuspecting fingers. Too small to get with tweezers, they usually go septic. 

Cacti, a spiny story — photograph 1

Cacti flowers are rarely scented. This one is called Queen of the Night, and, as the name suggests, opens at night to emit a heady fragrance that night-time insects can scent from miles. The flower is enormous, probably ten to twelve inches across.

Cacti, a spiny story — photograph 2

The Christmas Cactus, which comes in a variety of colours (I love this bright orange one), and in my experience, rarely flowers at Christmas, is not a true cactus, but a succulent. Hence the lack of spines.

Cacti, a spiny story — photograph 3

When we arrived in Ireland I brought my whole cactus collection with me in the bus. The customs people were a little confused, but as the sniffer dogs didn't make a fuss, they let us through. These days customs are much more particular about the movement of plants. We first put the greenhouse in the yard, but eventually built a concrete platform in the garden, and moved it.

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The two huge cacti are the ones I was first given, maybe 2.5 inches tall in tiny pots.  They are now over fifty years old.

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Everything was fine until Storm Hannah came onto the scene... This resulted in huge sheets of glass flying down the garden. We kept well clear until it was over. Then I spent ages walking down the garden with a bucket collecting shrds of glass that had been hurled into the ground like a scene from a horror movie. I bought stronger glass in large sheets to replace the small panes.

Cacti, a spiny story — photograph 8

And this is an amalgamation of images from over the years, of the flowers of the desert that bloom and die within days.

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And a few succulents...

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Eventually we were able to afford decent staging, and by then the garden had evolved a little.

Cacti, a spiny story — photograph 35