I am not a fan of cacti though I have been known to have some in the house many years ago and when I lived in Cape Town we had some of the lovely Lithops in the garden which look like living stones. But they are succulents so not quite the same. One very tall cactus only flowered at night so there were many anxious evenings once a bud appeared. And I do recall a trough of cacti into which my son fell at the age of 18 months. It happened at night and I hadn’t realised that his hand was full of the spines when I washed it under the tap!
But back in 2009 – 2012 I was lucky enough to spend some time in San Diego and on one occasion went to visit Balboa Park – a definite must see if you are ever in SD. There are several gardens including a desert garden with magnificent cacti and succulents.
The 1935 (Old) Cactus Garden was developed under the direction of Kate Sessions for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. It contains some of the largest cactus and succulent specimens in the Park and has also been developed to include the exotic African and Australian Protea plants.
Denzil’s Nature Photo Challenge #18 | Cacti
TRAVEL WORDS 
My dad has a small collection and he has that hairy one in your last image.
I had a few when I was keener on houseplants but they’re not my thing really. Good for photos.
I’m not surprised that you’re not keen on cacti – what a horrible memory! (Glad your son doesn’t remember it.) They’re a bit too unfriendly for me too. But the photographs are great!
I have a yucca which is quite lethal. I hadn’t realised how sharp they are.
They’re vicious! I once had the white of my eye nicked by the tip of a leaf – and I was wearing glasses, but it came in the side. (No real damage luckily!)
Yikes! That sounds nasty. Last year I managed to splash the gum from cutting back my Euphorbia all over my arm, it really does burn and blister. Thank goodness it avoided my face!
Oh ouch! That sounds painful – gardening can be a bit dangerous!
Such great photos!
Thank you.