Back in the desert! A quick work trip to the Palm Springs area means I get to do a little exploring. I stumbled upon Moller’s Garden Center  where cactus dreams come true.

Moller’s has lots of plant varieties, but I was in the market for a cactus to bring home to my parents. I am obsessed with cacti right now (I blame Moorten). They don’t fair too well in the Bay Area (where I live); my parents, though live in a warm and dry climate – perfect for cacti!

I got these lil nuggets. One turns purple in the winter! You can see it here turning back to green…

I also found out the furry fuzzy soft looking dots on these cacti are not cute and fluffy at all. I rammed my hand into the purple one while trying to stop the cart and all those little pricklies, though they looked like fur on my knuckles, were painful to remove. I still have spikes in my hand that were too small to remove; it’s been over a month now!

Cactus pro tips / life tips: Remove tiny pricklies with a microfiber cloth (my coworker taught me this one!). Duct tape seems to work, too, but not as well (that’s what the nursery folks had on hand). And, when in the desert, always travel with tweezers (the pricklies get everywhere…not fun). Also, maybe just stay away from cacti (but they’re so cute!).

Do you have a fascination with desert plants, too? Share your faves below.