Or not, hard to say.

“It appears that the owners of the bar have known for a long time about the problems caused by the Cactus… but have chosen to ignore those problems because they are making too much money,” the Osadchuks’ attorney, Charlie Rice of South Bend, said in an e-mail. “A classic case of profits over people.”

What kind of problem could a cactus be causing to bar patrons? I don’t understand.

(P)olice responded to nearly 700 calls for service at the Neon Cactus.

Oooohhhhh…… It’s not a cactus, it’s a Neon Cactus. Now I understand. I have a neon cactus T-shirt for sale at Cafepress. I wonder if it’s the same thing? My T-shirts don’t cause bar fights, at least not that I am aware of. So much confusion in Indiana. And right here too – sometimes I wonder what this blog is all about. Ah well, on to the next misunderstanding…

Geraniums are showier and more easily found in window boxes around the world, but Pelargoniums are better. Don’t believe me? Then check out the photos in the Dallas Morning News and you’ll be a convert.

In Saguaro National Park they’ve come up with such a simple and elegant solution to poaching, that one wonders why it wasn’t thought of before.

Bob Love, the chief ranger says “Saguaro National Park was set aside to preserve the saguaro cactus if we can’t protect them here where can we can we protect them.”

So he’s come up with a plan to deter plant poachers. A microchip will be implanted in the saguaros…. Each chip costs $3.50

I like it. Maybe we can also microchip my sunglasses, since they keep getting stolen too, or lost, hard to know which.

…for the environment. 4 Baby Cactus Owls were hatched in captivity. The Tucson Citizen is all over it.

A nonprofit group that rescues birds of prey in Arizona has hatched four cactus ferruginous pygmy owls, the first ones bred in captivity, a researcher for the Arizona Game & Fish Department said….

Though the new owls will remain in captivity, the long-term goal is to replenish the dwindling population of the birds in the Sonoran desert, said sanctuary director Bob Fox.

“The plan will be to get the birds released to the wild at some point,” said Fox, who cares for about 150 owls and hawks at Wild at Heart.

I’d like to add my 2 cents worth:

Woohoo!

In Texas, the like to garden in themes, and apparently now cactus is a theme with which to garden.

Gardens can do more than put food on the table or create curb appeal. For some, they’re a reflection of values…. Here are some other suggestions for themes that can be fashioned into gardens:

I think this is sad. A theme is like “French Provincial, mid-1860s” or “Light Green” or “Mow and Blow” but cactus isn’t a theme, it’s a plant family. I mean you could say that Fucshia is a theme then. Imagine the possiblities.

Roof: Top off a sturdy outbuilding with a layer of sod sown liberally with wildflowers. Or use succulents, cactus and other drought resistant plants on the roof of structures where they can be maintained and enjoyed.

Oh, I guess I was wrong. WELL, green roofs seems like a good idea. 

Nevermind.

I’ve never linked to Fox News before. Then again, I’ve never linked to CBS either. NBC and CNN, sure.

Mike Rimer calls himself a ‘Cactus Cop’, much to the chuckle sometimes of those he meets. But in this region of the country and to those who sanctify succulents, busting poachers who thrive on saguaros for example, can be as important as catching thief nabbing a diamond necklace.

I only agreed to link to this from FOX because of the pretty pictures. There’s video too. I hope it was all worth it for you, since I feel dirty now.

Today we travel the world in search of hip and contemporary succulent fanciers. And now we find them in Ireland this coming weekend.

The South East Garden Show is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year and is on track to be a huge success. This year’s show has moved to a new location, Clonmel Racecourse, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary on 20th 21st & 22nd June. This was previously held at the Iverk Show Grounds, Piltown, Co. Kilkenny….

I don’t know what that paragraph was about, what with the clonmels and the iverks and the piltowns.

Dermot O’Neill, that well know gardening personality, will be on hand once again to officially open this high-quality event on Friday 20th June at 12noon…

Yes, I know Dermot well. Or I would, if I lived in Ireland and followed the lecture circuit for well-known garden personalities.

It is a great family event with children’s entertainment with Sylvano the magician…

Oh God…

bouncy castle…

I’m bursting….

and more….

Phew.

There will be plenty of… cacti and succulents… for the adults to see and buy… and much more

You could do worse.

…for succulents. Even in Ottawa. No, especially in Ottawa.

What is the shortest distance between the novice gardener and a hip garden? A collection of succulents. These little (for the most part) charmers announce to the world that you have arrived in the garden design world.

It is true. To be hip one needs to garden with succulents. Take your hipness tips from an Ottawan and you can’t go wrong, I always say. Now you know.

…starts with plants.

If the sea rocket detects unrelated plants growing in the ground with it, the plant aggressively sprouts nutrient-grabbing roots. But if it detects family, it politely restrains itself.

A dodder after it attacked a tomato plant. Photo: Justin Runyon/De Moraes and Mescher Labs

I always knew it. I’ve argued it for years. Now we’ve got the possibility that vegetarians have been eating intelligent life forms all along. And they were delicious. Of course, based on the article, it wasn’t the tomato plant that was intelligent….

Verizon has a unique way to hide some cell towers in Casa Grande, and I don’t mean invisible ink.

The tower will… blend into the landscape, looking like a 24-foot saguaro cactus. Dubbed the “Stealth Cactus,” the Verizon cell tower “monocactus” will be joined by four live saguaros on the currently bare hill to match area landscapes.

This is very good news. I foresee some new towers in many interesting and happy shapes. For instance, in Philadelphia, they’ll be in the shape of a big bell.

And in San Francisco, they could hide them on the hills looking like a cable car.

How about for Buffalo they could hide them in a snow drift?

I like the idea of a giant crab in Baltimore; a big pot of beans in Boston; a 2000lb lobster in Maine, and a pig in Nebraska…. Hey! Now there’s an idea…. The world’s largest cell-phone-tower-pig! I’d stop by to see it.

Any other ideas?

Who knew there were others doing this too, and that they had a formal name and PO Box too?

A young woman in a green jacket with horses printed all over it stopped to ask what they were doing.

“We’re gardening,” Reynolds told her.

“Who are you gardening for?”

“For everyone and ourselves,” he said. “We’re guerrilla gardeners.”

An unauthorized horticultural action in London this May.
Photo: Finlay MacKay for The New York Times

Have you ever done anything like this? Planted something on public property or on someone else’s under-utilized land?

Students near San Diego get with the program and plant some cactus after all.

When their science teacher announced plans to make a cactus garden that would be a model of water conservation, students pictured an arid landscape.

BORing.

Hey! That’s not fair. Kids can be so cruel.

But some eighth-graders at San Marcos Middle School embraced the after-school project after seeing pictures of an award-winning cactus garden with bright colors and resembling a coral reef. They perked up more after visiting Palomar College’s cactus garden down the street.

Students then decided to dedicate the garden that they would create to Lenny Preyss, a popular history and English teacher who is retiring in June after 31 years on campus. The school garden should be finished next week.

Oh. That’s better. Good for them. I wonder how that turned out?

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest project is filming in a famous cactus garden, although we don’t know why. Here is a picture of a famous actress being hounded by photographers in a famous cactus garden, although you can’t see any of the cacti in question. But they assure us they’re there.

Penélope Cruz in the Guatiza Cactus Garden yesterday – Photo EFE

Filming on the island is expected to last for more than two weeks.
Penélope Cruz is already in Lanzarote at the orders of Pedro Almodóvar as filming starts for the new film ‘Los Abrazos Rotos’.

The famous Guatiza Cactus Garden was chosen by the director for some shots taken yesterday, and part of the filming was carried out by helicopter and comes at the start of what will be more than two weeks filming on the Canary Island.

I remember the first Almodóvar film I saw, Tie Me Up Tie Me Down!, ah good times. I also liked All About My Mother. It really was. All about my mother, that is. What a lame joke. But that’s only because it’s hard to adequately describe an Almodóvar experience. In fact, I think I’ll add Tie Me Up Tie Me Down! to my netflix list, as I haven’t seen it in years.

KHTS AM 1220 Outdoor Report reporter Wendy Langhans noticed her cactus outdoors was blooming. I post a quote from her report and a picture from the website, because I feel it is important to let radio have just as much blog support as newspapers. Now, where in the heck is KHTS anyway?

One evening this week as I was watering my plants, I noticed a few cactus buds that were almost ready to bloom.  I made a note to check back early the next morning, because most cactus blossoms don’t last very long after they open.  And sure enough, the next morning the flowers were open and resplendent in the first light of dawn.  As I zoomed in with my camera to take a photo, I noticed that the anthers were covered with a dusting of white pollen.

Apparently the Chelsea Garden Show this year had a green theme, and they’re looking into cactus and succulents.

Climate change was very much on gardeners’ minds at (the) Chelsea Flower Show, the fashionable high point in the British gardening season. Designers looked for inspiration from warmer, drier climes – southern France, Australia and Chile – for a future which is thought to augur wetter winters, more erratic rainfall and extended droughts….

Palm trees in a London park? Cactus in an English cottage garden?

Anything’s possible if you put your mind to it. The key is to rethink what a cottage garden can be, rather than just assume you already know. For instance, there are some very nice Aeoniums that are very cottagey.

From the Deccan (India) Herald, comes a story about a Saguaro and sharing. I promised Hap I wouldn’t insult any articles today, so I’m passing this along without comment.

Gilded Flickers create holes for nests in Saguaros. Flickers excavate larger holes higher on the stem, penetrating the ribs. Their holes sometimes cause enough damage to cause death and other problems….

We now know that this thorny cactus offers food and shelter to the creatures of the desert but above all this selfless giant inspires you to believe that – Sharing and caring make life truly laudable.

Must… Not… Comment…

…are causing damage in National Forests. What can be done? Well…

TONTO NATIONAL FOREST – Surrounded by illegal off-highway vehicle trails, this one patch, with a replanted cactus taking root, marks an effort repair at least some of the desert near Mesa.

Boy Scouts planted the cactus and several others dotting this landscape, and groups representing riders, hikers and others often volunteer to help repair damage off-highway vehicles cause here.

Another solution is to stop riding over cactus, and stick to the trails, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

No, I’m not posting any scenes from the Sonoran Desert, for crying out loud. I live in California – we post scenes of the Mojave Desert, and sometimes the Great Basin.

It’s the Seattle PI telling you how to make your own little Sonoran Desert scene in a pot.

Don’t let the lack of eaves stop you from enjoying the Sonora at your home. Start with a low bowl-shaped container. Make sure there are plenty of drainage holes and fill the container with cactus soil (available at most garden centers). Now for the real fun: Shop for cactuses, agaves and other succulents at your favorite quality nursery or indoor plant store. The contrasting forms, textures and colors of the desert plants will provide lots of variety to play with. Create a realistic desert landscape look by adding rugged colorful stones between the planted succulents…. Display your desert container in a protected, out-of-the-way, full-sun location where visitors can enjoy it without having to get uncomfortably close to the prickly plants.

Man, that’s some stupid advice. “Create a realistic desert landscape”! Most people aren’t designers and can’t do it. If the instructions aren’t paint-by-numbers quality, they’ll fail. They want your help, Seattle PI, and you’re not helping.

Now even the Macon (GA) Telegraph is getting into the act. Man, cactus must be popular these days that every podunk newspaper in the country is printing cactus bloom photos. And I’m reposting every single one of them for you.

Diana Baldrica, MCT. Horse-crippler cactus.

You know it would be easy for me to quote from the article too, but I don’t think you really care about what the Macon telegraph has to say about cactus, so I am saving you the trouble of passing over their text. You can thank me in the comments.

Well, the flowers are beautiful and the plants are easy to take care of, but the Los Angeles Times says no one cares.

Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times
Epiphyllum ‘Scoop of Raspberry’

The orchid cactus might be called the Cinderella of the garden world. Most of the year the plant, with disheveled, arched, trailing branches, is easy to ignore. But from February through June, magnificent flowers, some as large as 13 inches across, pop from the notched branches in brilliant shades of red, orange, violet, yellow and gold….

There are 13,000 hybrids registered by the Epiphyllum Society of America….

But mention epiphyllum and most people’s eyes glaze over.

Well, gee, mention 13,000 hybrids and of course eyes are glazing over. Mine are, and I like them.

The Selkirk Weekend Advertiser is amazed, amazed by Mary Lawrie’s blooming cactus.

Selkirk’s Mary Lawrie with the tiny cactus she bought 32 years ago and left it in the small toilet of her Castle Street home.

That is amazing! 32 years in a toilet, and it’s still alive! I assume she never flushed… Oh, wait, I think in Scottish-speak that must refer to the room, not the fixture… OK, so what else can you tell us, great Scottish Advertiser?

After 30 years, it suddenly produced a flower.

Nifty! Does Mary have anything to say about this?

“It has the most beautiful flower. It comes out first like a grey furry thing that grows and grows ’til it gets to about eight inches long and then it opens. It’s like somebody pulled your ear out and stretched it, that’s what it looks like. The flower is so heavy the plant can’t maintain the weight of it. It’s dead now.”

I can just hear her accent in that quote. Thank you Mary for your 30 years long persistence.

ABC15 in Mesa, AZ has the story.

A Mesa couple was injured when they ended up rolling in cacti while fleeing from Mesa police Monday….

…bad check… getaway car… police helicopter… fled…

Both suspects were taken to a Mesa hospital after being hurt from rolling in Cholla cacti, according to the report.

I’m a little confused. The story doesn’t say why they were rolling in the cholla. Did they think this would scare the police away? Trying out a Brer Rabbit and the briar patch impersonation? Or maybe they thought this would help bolster their insanity plea later on. Or, or… maybe the cops had them up against a cliff and they jumped to escape and landed in a cholla patch. It could happen.

Jim at the Palm Springs Desert Sun spends a day in the desert to find the local Mojave Fishhook Cactus. And finds one!

With the discovery of this one, known to botanists as Sclerocactus polyancistrus, my list was complete. I had found and photographed every kind of cactus known to exist in the deserts of California….

(T)his species is rarely abundant even in favored habitat…. The other factor making it difficult to find a Mojave fishhook is that each specimen looks very much like a browsed clump of bunch grass.

Sounds like Jim has been busy finding cactus in California.

The Arizona quarter is finally being released, with the famous Saguaro design.

Isn’t it lovely?

I see some Opuntias on there too, plus what is that I see in the background? Why, I think it’s a sunset! Yes! Yes it is a sunset! And here I thought the sun set over the Pacific, as viewed from California, not over the Grand Canyon. What were those numismatists thinking?

Whether you eat relish or not, you must give props to the winners of the Taste of Wilmington.

The secret ingredient – cactus – showed up in a relish, a spring greens salad, a ceviche and even a sugar cookie dessert.

I ate cactus last night at Casa Poblana in Emeryville. The steak was tough, not as good as usual, but the nopale was delicious, and the margarita was fantastic.

The Austin Statesman wants you to know that this is now cactus flowering season in Texas.

Mike Leggett/AMERICAN-STATESMAN Despite a dry spring, this claret cup cactus is in full bloom in Kerr County.

This spring hasn’t been much for wildflowers, but there are all the signs it’s going to be a great year for cactus flowers.

It’s true, the cactus are blooming in Texas. How do I know? Well, I read the Austin Statesman, that’s how, duh.

The East Bay Express reviews the Oakland branch of one of our favorite local restuarants, Cocina Poblana in Emeryville, and isn’t thrilled. They do like the nopales though.

Cocina Poblana belongs to the bourgeoning genre of Mexican restaurants that focus not on burritos, fajitas, and enchiladas, but on the more complex regional cookery of this food-centric nation….

Emeryville’s Cocina Poblana, which opened in 2006, helped bring this trend to the East Bay. Now proprietor Lito Saldaña has opened another, more upscale location among the chain stores and restaurants of Jack London Square. But… only a few of the venue’s dishes attain the sophisticated, dynamic, virile heights of gustatory Mexico….

Another entrée, the huarache Azteca, involves a dried-out platter of masa piled with refried beans, grilled cactus, grated cheese, and a few salty shrimp.

Well, I don’t know about the shrimp version of the huarache, but the chicken huarache at our local hangout is quite good. The grilled cactus is crisp, and tasty. And the margarita menu is top notch. Maybe we’ll go there for dinner tonight.

It’s true in this season of giant echinocereus blooms that some of them are bound to make the news. The Green Valley News and Sun published this picture.

JERRY MARRION PHOTO
Cactus king
An estimated 30 blooms make this cactus (ecinopsis genus, trichocereus species) in Esperanza Estates, a wonderful reason to appreciate the desert.

I’d pay money to see that.