 The
Cactus Garden began in 1994 as one of the 13 Idea Gardens on the
campus of Michigan State University. The original site was a
10' X 30' plot that was designed
and is maintained by a group of Genesee County Master Gardeners.
The Idea Gardens were abandoned at the end of the growing season in
1994, but Genesee County was invited to continue
to maintain the cactus garden there.
In 2000, when MSU needed the existing garden space to erect a
storage facility for their large equipment, the garden was moved from its first site to the present
location in the Clarence E. Lewis Arboretum.
 The garden design includes a dry riverbed, a few large
sandstone rocks, a berm, and a split rail fence. Specimens
growing in the garden include 2 varieties of Opuntia, natives
of
Michigan, along with other Opuntia that, too, are hardy here, an assortment
of other succulents also hardy to our climate, and a sprinkling of
alpine plants. The alpines make good companion plants for the
succulents because they are native to regions of the world with cold
climates, and grow on well drained slopes making them acclimated to
drought conditions.
Some of the other succulents included in the garden are cultivars of
Yucca, Sedum, and Sempervivum. The backdrop for the garden is Miscanthus sinensis "Gracilimus'
behind the split rail fence.
|
