The point of a cactus

I'd really rather call this 'what is the point of a cactus'  as I'm not a cactus lover.  They don't do much do they,  they just sit in their pots,  don't need much attention,  waiting to spike me when I need to move them to clean.    We have huge prickly pear plants around here and agave,  also pots of aloe vera in the garden,  the prickly pears have beautiful flowers and  fruit late summer which some people like to eat,  but with care as they have very small but nasty prickles.  But as a house plant?  Why? 

But John has always like to have cactus plants and now he has an ally in our neighbour Mari-Carmen as she too likes cactus.  So much so that she has over 50 in her Granada house and has started to plant them here too,  outside in her flower beds.  I gave her strawberry plants for her garden,  more useful I think - at least you've got something to eat as well as flowers - and she gave us some cactus seedlings.  'Anytime you want any,  just help yourselves'  she said,  as one variety which seems to go up and up,  drops little nodules off the sides which root easily.  Another variety makes 'hijos'  (children / offspring)  which she just pulled away from the main plant for him. 

One day last summer Mari and Miguel took a trip down to El Ejido to visit a cactus garden centre,  Cactus Serrano,  and John asked her to get him a few plants if they had anything a bit different.  She came back with 4 for him,  one I'd describe more as a succulent than a cactus,  it definitely isn't prickly which is wonderful,  and it's a lovely colour too.

The others were basically round,  green and spiky.  One had yellow flowers,  in fact it still has which makes me wonder if it's real! 

They live on the outside, south facing windowsill of the dining room,  their  only protection is from the fly screen which is attached to the bars,  we are able to water them  from the inside.  So they sit there,  but recently one of the round ones produced some buds.  And more buds.  And more!  Now it has 12 buds and 3 gorgeous flowers.

Just look......

and look at those spikes :(

He has another collection which live outside as well,  but on the west facing 'sunset' terrace,  not round spiky ones but tall ones with little soft nodules,  as yet no flowers but maybe one day they too will do something spectacular.