Cactus sale at Oracle Gorge next weekend
Have the drought and heat wilted your enthusiasm for gardening, Austinites? May I suggest two things to renew your gardening joy? Water plants and cacti. I’ve gone on lately about my new water garden, but long-time readers know that I also love agaves, yuccas, and other plants that eat up the type of weather we’ve been enjoying suffering through this summer.
My favorite nurseries around town—Barton Springs Nursery, The Natural Gardener, and The Great Outdoors—all have good cactus and succulent selections. But if you’re a collector or you just want more, you must treat yourself to a visit to Oracle Gorge Cactus Nursery next weekend.
Owner Bob Barth will be opening his four greenhouses to the public on August 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For directions, check out my post about the Oracle Gorge sale last summer, or email Bob at
bbarth at mail dot utexas dot edu
Happy cactus planting!
P.S. The cacti pictured in this post are, at top, Queen Victoria agave (Agave victoriae-reginae ) and, at bottom, Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’ with Yucca flaccida ‘Bright Edge’.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Sure like the Queen Victoria agave. I really like the variegation on the edge and the plant is really nicely shaped. My yard conditions are too swampy to be successful with agave…though I like them.
Pam, thanks for posting the info about the cactus sale. I was out of town last year and missed it so I’m definitely going to try to make it this year. I would really like to find one of the Queen Victoria agaves.
Pam, what sort of payment does he accept? Cash only? Checks?
As I recall, I paid with a credit card last year, Vertie. Better to contact him to be sure though. —Pam
Does he allow visitors by appointment? I hope to bring a group of gardeners to Austin this coming year. What are the best times to visit your gardens in your humble opinion? Anyone else out there who wants to chime in, please do at wildenside@aol.com. jim here.
He DOES allow visitors by appointment, Jim. And the best times to visit Austin gardens, in my humble opinion, are in the fall—mid-October to mid-November—and in the spring—mid-April to early June. How fun! What is the connection or common interest for your group of gardeners, if you don’t mind my asking? —Pam
That nursery is amazing. Dr. Barth also inspired my interest in birds with his Ornithology class at UT! He is a cool dude. I’ll be out of town next weekend, though, so I will miss it. 🙁
I don’t know if I could deal with the horrid weather conditions you have been having but I do love the cacti and Agave.
Oh to be the rich jet-setting plant collector of my dreams! I’d be there in a heart beat.
Thanks for the tip. This drought has ripped my heart out of planting.
If you have to suffer through the heat you may as well have fun.
Lovely plants. I really like Yucca’s and Agave’s. I have a very large Yucca aloifolia that is growing well. The Yucca’s are also very hardy heat and cold wise, they are great.
Thanks for all the pond write-ups, just looking at it on my computer screen makes me feel a little cooler in this weather.
I’m trying to resist the cacti, since the ultimate plan for my new (as yet untouched) garden involves a lot of shade…
(As a PS – I just got my first of 3 or 4 rain barrels, it’s not something I ever would have thought of if I hadn’t been reading your blog. Now it just has to rain!)