Garden: This One's for Loree: Botanical Cactus Garden

Loree of Danger Garden doesn't know me, but I have been reading her blog off and on for years.  So, when I spotted this gem of a cactus garden adjoining Ethel M Chocolates in Las Vegas, I thought of her.  Loree, these photos are for you...

Just a quick note...all these photos were taken in the scorching, blinding, blazing light of mid-day with my cell phone.  All things considered, I think my phone handled it pretty well!  Better than I did, anyway.

Some cactus gardens are so sparse--like a plant zoo--but this one looked comparatively lush and pretty.  I liked the intermingling of trees, cacti, and colorful, flowering plants.

Pretty pink opuntia.

Sculptural deadwood.

Ocotillo.

Another attractive composition of tree, cacti, flowering shrub*, and red boulders.

**Loree identified the shrub as Caesalpinia pulcherrima, commonly called Mexican Bird of Paradise, Pride of Barbados, Peacock Flower, or Dwarf Poinciana.

Sculptural stone.

Here's some information from the Las Vegas.com listing for Ethel M Chocolates and the Botanical Garden.  I especially noted the part about the lighted Christmas display (and I saw a picture, somewhere, of the lighted cacti)--who gets that job, I wonder?

Guests may also explore the Botanical Cactus Garden, open daily from 8:30am to 6pm. During the holidays, you can enjoy the cactus lighting display making a "sweet" and magical experience. 

Ethel M’s breathtaking Botanical Cactus Garden is Nevada's largest and one of the world's largest collections of its kind. Based on the English landscape model of naturalistic design, the Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden features four acres of drought-tolerant ornamentals, cacti, and other succulents. 
Over 300 species of plants can be found on the grounds. Half are cacti and succulents largely native to the American Southwest, and the rest are desert trees and shrubs from the Southwestern United States, Australia, and South America. All of these plants were chosen both for the beauty of their floral displays and their ability to adapt to the climate of Southern Nevada. 

(source)