Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Spiky links worth sharing: a cactus hater spouts off and a Christmas classic is restyled.

I generally shy away from recycling content from other blogs; there are already several that do just that, some great ones and some not so good ones. However I recently ran across two different online bits of spiky fun that I have to share.
The first I discovered via a retweet from the Cactus Jungle in Berkeley. By the way if you’ve not yet visited the Cactus Jungle Blog you really should do so. They are knowledgeable and informative with a wry sense of humor, and they post daily, wait scratch that…multiple times a day. They have a keen ability to locate offbeat stories in small town press that focus on local cactus and agave growers, and I particularly enjoy these features.
But what I‘m posting about today is a tidbit they shared last Sunday concerning a Yelp review of the California Cactus Center in Pasadena. If you would enjoy reading a "gangsta" review of a nursery click through and read this, it’s pretty hilarious (if a little “off-color” in places); here is a small snippet to tempt you: “in general, cactus is something you keep to yourself. it isnt a gift... its barely even a plant” ah yes…barely even a plant…the Cactus Jungle guys said it best: “people are odd.”
If you’ve never been to the California Cactus Center it is a wonderful place that (unlike Brandon) I highly recommend visiting. The pictures throughout this post are from my visit in October of 2009, here is the post on my visit and one from Denise, of A Growing Obsession.
The other link I want to share is from Debra Lee Baldwin and the blog Gardening Gone Wild. This blog is written by several different contributors and creators who always have something interesting to share. Yesterday Debra (of Succulent Container Gardens and Designing with Succulents fame) posted her spiky version of the Twelve Days of Christmas; no actually make that the Twelve Days of Cactus. Great fun and fabulous pictures to go with! Please click on through and I hope you enjoy…

7 comments:

  1. Brandon is proof that questionable "people" faction in our own ABQ native plant society chapter is exactly like him, as are part of our town, bent on replicating a cross of Iowa, alpine meadows, and 1800's cottage gardens HERE...they scare me.

    But my plants scare them, so they stay at a distance. Spines rule!

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  2. Debra Lee Baldwin is the best! Oh, and the review was great too, especially because it reminded me of living in Cali where I could eat In-N-Out and Del Taco. Del Taco is the $#!T! What?!

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  3. What rude fun. Sharp ass words about sharp ass plants. But what's all this love for Del Taco? Seriously, there's better street food -- though I've never eaten Del Taco so maybe I should shut up before Brandon flames me. Thanks for pointing to DL Baldwin's post too.

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  4. Del Taco was the college favorite back in the day when there were only a few of them. I can't imagine eating that crapola now !
    Thanks to you and Denise I have put Cali Cactus Center on the agenda for my Socal road trip next April.

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  5. I am such a fan of Debra - I''ll go check it out now.

    Happy Christmas to you and your family.

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  6. DD, so true...reminds me of the agaves planted as anti-theft devices outside a store in Fillmore, CA.

    RFG, this is where I admit to never having eaten at a Del Taco or In-N-Out.

    Denise, 'sharp ass words for sharp ass plants'...now that should have been my title.

    ks, yay! I can't wait to see it through your eyes.

    Thank you Evelyn!

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  7. I love the water hoses in a picture filled with cacti. Humor as in disjunct subjects.
    David/ Tropical Texana/

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