The Bad and the Ugly in two photos

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a classic 1966 Spaghetti Western. The Bad and the Ugly is the state of our garden after 18" of rain and colder nighttime temperatures than we’ve had in years.

Below is an example to illustrate.

Here is the Bad:

A decent enough cactus with a pleasing olive green coloration, you might think.

But that’s where we veer into Ugly territory:

The olive skin is the only thing that contained the mushy center. “Mushy” is not a good word in conjunction with cacti.

I know the title of this post says two photos, but here’s a third to illustrate what used to be the Good:

That’s what this Mammillaria compressa looked like last summer. It sailed through the winter of 2021, but this winter, with weeks of rain and cold, simply proved to be too much.

The lesson to be learned from this experience: There’s only so much you can do to create favorable conditions in your garden. Like all the other succulents in my garden, this Mammillaria compressa is a stranger in a strange land. No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to recreate its native habitat exactly. I did plant it in freely draining soil so it wouldn’t be waterlogged. However, even if it had been in 100% rock, it likely would have died.

Coincidentally, the other cacti nearby, including two other mammillarias, are perfectly fine. That underscores how random and unpredictable things are. Don’t be hard on yourself if a plant in your garden dies. Chances are it was killed by circumstances beyond your control.

After all the rain and snow we’ve had in December and January, California’s parched landscapes are breathing a metaphorical sigh of relief. But what’s good for nature at large isn’t always good for gardens. That’s just how it is.

I promise, this is the last “ugly” post for a while. More pretty pictures coming in a few days!

© Gerhard Bock, 2023. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.