Wealden Times | WT200 | October 2018 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Garden
This page: Cacti in the Marjorelle Garden, in Marrakech,
restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé
So what attention do these plants need? To start with they
prefer, no, must have, a well-drained soil. Bearing in mind
where many of them originate, the idea is to emulate those
conditions. I’ve recently seen huge aloes growing on rocky
screes in the north west of Majorca in what seemed impossible
growing conditions. You can buy special succulent composts.
Give the plants as much sunlight as possible. They’ll
suffer in a dark corner. A sunny windowsill is ideal. Water
them every seven to ten days in the summer and every three
weeks or so in the winter making sure that the soil is pretty
dry before you water again. Overwatering causes the plant’s
roots to rot off and its leaves to turn brown and unhealthy
looking. If you use a wooden skewer to prod into the soil,
as you would check whether a cake is cooked through,
you’ll know that it is time to water if the end is dry.
Many cactus originate from Mexico, a country rich
in biodiversity. The Sonoran desert in the north of the
country and the south west USA is home to cactus
such as the saguaro, the cardon and the organ pipe.
This arid region covers approximately 100,000 square
miles of SW Arizona and South Eastern California
as well as Baja California and the western half of the
Mexican state of Sonora. The Saguaro Cactus is the one
you spot in ‘cowboy’ films where you see nothing for
miles and miles except the cactus and the horizon.
Should you want inspiration closer to home though
take yourself off to the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech
where there is an absolutely stunning collection of
cactus and succulents. The garden was the creation of
Jacques Majorelle, a French artist who started what
was a forty-year love affair with the place in 1923.
In the centre of the garden is a Cubist building painted the
most wonderful clear cobalt blue which Majorelle patented
as Majorelle Blue. It is a fantastic backdrop to the collection
of plants there. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought
the garden in the 1980s after it had fallen into disrepair. They
restored it and continued Majorelle’s work. There is now a YSL
museum to visit if you can tear yourself away from the plants.
Prick prickldn.com The Cactus Shop cactusshop.co.uk
Sue Whigham can be contacted on 07810 457948 for
gardening advice and help in the sourcing and supply of
interesting garden plants.
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