The Copper Trough

A short note

A study in Opuntias and one stubborn barrel. Tall, fruit-bearing Prickly Pear pads tower behind the soft golden glochids of Bunny Ears, while a fishhook-spined barrel sits low and round at the front.

All three are Sonoran natives that drink deeply in summer storms and rest dry through winter. Their forms — flat paddle, soft pad, ribbed sphere — share a colour palette but never repeat a shape.

Full sun. Soak monthly in summer, almost nothing November to March.

A long copper trough with verdigris flatters the dusty greens and amber spines. Top-dress with red Sonoran gravel to echo the patina's warmth.