eyesore

This is a story of a cactus blossom. It’s mostly a photo story of the 24 hours of the life of a blossom, but the backstory of the cactus’s origin and condition is equivalent to the significance of the final outcome. Continue on to experience a rebellious road trip, toothless old stranger, and lots of backbreaking work that resulted in this floral phenomenon...

It all began during the Covid Lockdown in the spring of 2020. Everyone was cautioned to isolate and social distance when in public. I tried to stay home as long as I could, but after a full month of sitting around at home, I was going a little stir-crazy. I started taking my son on road trips to random parts of the southwest, usually involving remote towns and dirt roads. On one trip I was trying to find inspiration for a new garden I was going to create in my backyard. I found it in Wickenburg- a gorgeous cactus garden, complete with large boulder accents and various species of cactus. I took the idea home and ran with it!

First, I decided to dig up the foot-deep Bermuda grass, complete with the complex root system. I didn’t leave one blade or root of Bermuda behind- it’s beyond aggressively invasive! I then purchased cactus soil to elevate the garden bed. It was time to buy the cactus!

Purchasing cactus during a nationalwide pandemic wasn’t the easiest thing to do. I couldn’t exactly buy cactus on Amazon! To get into Home Depot involved standing in a long line outside at 7 a.m., six feet apart from other stir-crazy homeowners, and waiting to get into the store. It also didn’t seem to be an ideal place for unique cactus. Then I was driving down Olive Avenue one morning and realized that the “Cactus Sale” sign I have read for 15 years was still up. There’s a local residence that has an adjoining shade structure and greenhouse just for cactus. On a whim I decided to stop.

Luckily my son was with me when arriving to the Cactus Shop. The man who approached the car was very enthusiastic about visitors and didn’t seem to know anything about Covid. As he was toothless, maskless, and overly friendly to females (or just me), I was subconsciously involved in some kind of social-distance dance with the cactus proprietor. That continued much longer than the recommended 15 minutes of exposure to people. I was torn- I wanted to stay far away from this enthusiastic man but LOVED the cactus selection. There were hundreds of cactus and quite a variety of species!! It was the most surreal blend of cactus adoration and people avoidance I have ever experienced in my life. Finally I purchased several cacti, and we escaped. The toothless old man waved happily as we sped down Olive Ave.

When we got home, I placed the cactus on the garden bed, in their plastic pots, to play around with the design of the different species. It was a hot day, and I went inside to cool off and relax. I forgot about them in their little black pots, sitting in the hot southwestern sun, the first time away from their shade structure. I came back outside the next morning to plant the cactus, and I was dismayed at what I saw… one of the smallest ones had a deep sunburn on one side. It had shriveled up and looked distressed. I put it on the side of the house, in the shade, and decided not to plant it with the others. Why would I want to include an eyesore in my new garden? What would an ugly cactus do to the aesthetics of the design I had carefully planned out? I would wait until trash day and throw it out.

A week later I realized I forgot to throw away the cactus, and the sunburn appeared to be healing. I decided to plant it the furthest away from the house, with the scar facing the fence. Hopefully it will grow into something beautiful. Then a year later I saw a blossom emerge, and it was one of the most beautiful flowers I have seen!! It came during a monsoon storm, and only lived for about 12 hours. I was sad to see it go. The little cactus kept plugging along throughout the seasons…

And then this week 4 blossoms popped out, ready to open up!! Luckily for me the big night was Friday night, and I spent all day Saturday enjoying their spectacular appearance. It was the highlight of my week.

The scabby eyesore transformed into an exquisite bloom. Lesson learned: never give up on nature, it can work miracles.

and now for the photo story…