A spiky surprise in the country

I live in Davis, about 15 miles west of Sacramento, the capital of California. Our town of 65,000 is surrounded by a flood plain to the east and agricultural land everywhere else. As soon you leave the city limits, you’re in the country.

This fact became very clear when I visited Three Palms Nursery. Located about 7 miles west of downtown Davis, the nursery is located all by its lonesome in the middle of fields. A peaceful and bucolic spot indeed.

But the topic of this post isn’t Three Palms Nursery although I’m planning a return trip later in the month. Rather, I want to you show you what I found on the way home.

Just before you enter Davis proper, there’s an empty lot at the intersection of two county roads. Except it’s not exactly empty. True, there’s no house on it, but somebody has been using it as their desert garden. It’s conceivable that some of the Agave americana and prickly pears appeared on their own—they do naturalize around here. But the other assorted cacti were definitely added by a human.

Let’s take a look!

I’m not a fan of pineappling agaves but hey, it’s not my call. Look at the sheer number of pups, though. And there are many more on the other side.

I must admit, this Agave americana does have presence.

Prickly pears, typically Opuntia ficus-indica, are a common sight in rural areas. Just as common is scale infestation (the cottony deposits on the pads). Cochineal scale and prickly pears go hand in hand. It’s just a matter of time before your opuntia ends up with scale. That’s one of the reasons I’ve given up on opuntias. (The main reason are the d***n glochids that get me every time.)

There’s no rhyme or reason to the plantings (if indeed they are deliberate plantings). It’s just a jumble of spiky goodness, and there’s a disarming charm about that.

More plants are being added, as you can see in the next photo:

The two in the photo below are very cozy. But I have news for them. Their relationship won’t last. They’ll be in each other’s face very soon, and one of them will have to leave.