Prickly issue

John, who is P. Garden's Official Plant Acquisition Specialist, came by tonight, with his assistant Harold, as I was emptying my fourth muck bucket of weeds onto the compost heap (only about 20 more to go...) and brought me an almost embarrassing quantity of succulents! Among them:

Three huge prickly pears (Opuntia) now situated by the chain-link fence to hopefully deter people from climbing over it.

Dozens of Aloe nobilis (Gold-Tooth Aloe) to add to the Aloe hedge along the storm drain, some in pots.

Two big juicy Kalanchoe blossfeldiana (I think - with white flowers) whose name it turns out I have been pronouncing incorrectly all this time. It's ka-LAN-ko-ee, not "um, uh, KALLAN-cho? mumble, mumble" as I have been butchering it.

And two gorgeous big blue Agave americana that are dying to get out of their pots and grow even bigger.

To get back to the fence problem though, last night someone drove their shopping cart into the garden, crushing a few smaller succulents along the front edge of the storm drain. No doubt they hopped the fence at the back and spent the day under the freeway bridge doing whatever they do. I really hope the prickly pears deter them - they don't look very spiny, this type, but believe me when I say the spines get under your skin and cause you misery later on. John was kind enough to help me tie the cactus up to the fence so they're not kicked aside while they root: hope it works.