I suspect the pictures on this website have probably given you a clue already; but yes, you are right, I do have a bit of a thing about deserts… [DESERT]
 

[SAGUARO ]

I was originally drawn to these extraordinary landscapes for their remote otherworldliness, and quickly discovered the peculiar flora and fauna that thrives there. Take the stately Saguaro cactus, for example, it sometimes the height of a two storey building and the enormous limbs that protrude in every direction were the plant’s own survival technique as a way to repair damage to its trunk.

Next, the crisp lime-green prickly pear cactus unabashedly donning circular crowns of multicolour flowers in spring and delicious edible fruits in summer. Then there is the fairy-tale ocotillo cactus looking curiously like the tendrils of very tall underwater reeds, that sway in the breeze. The stems fire out vibrant tongues of red or pink flowers, as though reaching for the air above the waterline, all seemingly floating effortlessly and tall, apparently entirely devoid of gravity.
 

But the king of weird is the wonderful and quirky Joshua Tree (a succulent from the Yucca family), in fact it’s so good, they named a fabulous desert town after it.

Deserts harbour so many weird and wonderful plants and animals that I am genuinely moved by it. It’s a hard thing to explain but ultimately, humans couldn’t survive in those extraordinary, otherworldly mostly arid landscapes without gallons of water, protective gear, and a bucket load of desert know-how. I find the native plants and animals truly thrive, and even the smallest plant or creature, fills me with such humbling admiration and wonder. 

So what about the Cholla Cactus (pronounced ‘Choy-uh’, Cylindropuntia)? This is a seemingly ubiquitous plant in many of the American South-West deserts, particularly the Sonoran and Mojave. We all know that one should tread wearily around any cactus as they have a natural tendency to bite painfully if you get too close, but the Cholla appears to be in a devious premier class of its own. On the one hand it’s known as the “teddy bear cactus” because - at a glance and in the right light – the branches appear to be covered in extremely fine fur, so-much-so that it’s agonisingly tempting to reach out and stroke it! But spoiler alert - get even within a few inches of the “Jumpin’ Cholla” (as it’s also quite-rightly known), and you will experience of shock of pain as a plethora of the finest, nearly invisible needles apparently jump out and pierce your skin multiple times. They are so fine they can’t be seen and are very tricky to remove! (Wear trousers and sturdy boots, you have been warned!)

When the Cholla cactus comes to end of life, branches fall onto the sand of the scrubby golden, desert floor and lie in the hot sun for years. Eventually, only the sun-bleached bones of old plant structures remain as twisted wooded tubes, punctuated with many elongated holes in a helter-skelter arrangement around the tube. These cactus remains represented little desert jewels to me the first moment I discovered them, but honouring the “Take only photos, leave only footprints” rule for travellers everywhere, all I could do was dream about the shape, and in time, my first Cholla Cigar ring was born.

Growing my Cholla Collection has become a passion, born out of an intense passion and admiration for the desert, and an important way for me to show my connection to it, even when I’m home.