We are regular visitors to Majorca and usually visit at least one garden during our stay – there are many to choose from up and down the island. I’m not a particular fan of cactus plants, however I was fascinated by some photos of ‘Botanicactus’, a garden in Ses Salines, posted on Trip Advisor and persuaded Chris to make the trip to see it in July this year.

So on a baking hot day (what do they say about mad dogs…..), we drove down to the south of the island to see for ourselves. We certainly weren’t disappointed, this garden is vast and so are the cactus planted in it. Growing since 1989 the garden has suffered setbacks when storms flooded the whole area on three occasions, the last being in 1995 but the gardeners persevered and saved it each time. The son of the originator of the garden runs it to this day.

I was familiar with many of the cactus growing in the garden as they can be purchased as tiny plants in the UK, but the scale here is something else! Overall, the garden spans 37 acres, with 10 of these being dedicated to cacti and the remaining space providing for mediterranean and tropical gardens and a huge lake.

Golden barrels are prickly domes with a very slow growth rate – these are probably over 30 years old and at the time of our visit just coming into flower. These are my favourite, I love the form and planted en masse, they remind me of a box ball garden.

Micromeris Unguispina, denmoza rhodacantha and opuntia (Prickly Pear) loving the scorching heat.

The planting isn’t random, shape and form were clearly considered when the garden was created and it showcases over 1,600 species across the total acreage

This is ‘euphorbia ingens‘ but unlike any euphorbia I’m familiar with – these are giants and a little spooky!

Botanicactus is just surreal – a friend of mine likened it to a film set when I shared these photos with her! A very enjoyable few hours despite the growing heat, just fascinating and well worth a visit if you’re in Majorca – but make it early in the day.