Chris Sullivan wishes he hadn't bothered to install an irrigation system. The garden that he and wife, Margaret, designed and planted 2 1/2 years ago needs no water other than the occasional rainstorm, although "we do hose off the barrel cactuses in summer if they're dusty," Chris says.
Golden barrel cactuses are showing up in more dry landscapes these days, and not just because they need so little irrigation. Designers often use golden barrels to provide intriguing texture, dramatic pattern (when used in numbers) and bright color year-round. When backlit, the golden spines surround the plant with a glowing halo. In spring, buds form a whorl at the crown, and a succession of satiny yellow flowers unfurl for months.
"Golden barrels are more popular than ever," says Molly Thongthiraj, co-owner of California Cactus Center in Pasadena.
Five years ago, the store provided the Getty Center with 552 of the spiny tuffets for the South Promontory garden. The plants -- 15 to 19 inches in diameter when installed -- are now 20 to 24 inches, Thongthiraj says. The inch-per-year growth rate slows as golden barrels approach about 36 inches in diameter.
Golden barrels tolerate more irrigation than other cactuses and consequently do not rot as easily. Thongthiraj says the plants do equally well in desert gardens and in landscapes that require slightly more water.
"They're the perfect finishing touch for a succulent garden," she says.
The Sullivans' previous residence mixed spherical and columnar cactuses with aloes, agaves, kalanchoes and other succulents -- plants that store water in fleshy leaves and stems in order to survive drought.
The couple's new home has a front garden that's smaller, so they disciplined themselves.
"With succulents, it's tempting to want one of everything," Margaret says.
They went with a limited palette of barrel cactuses and other sculptural, architectural plants that suited the contemporary lines of their remodeled home. Against a backdrop of greenish tan walls, columnar cactuses mix with Yucca rostrata trees with strappy leaves.
Chris planted one yucca so its trunk was parallel to the ground. The tree has since curved upward, lending a sculptural element that contrasts effectively with the angular hardscape and the setting's strong vertical lines.
