Plant ABCs: O is for Opuntia

This post continues my "ABCs of Plants in my Garden" series and highlights the letter O for Opuntia or the cactus known as prickly pear.  The prickly pear cactus is so common here in Texas that until recently I wouldn't have imagined planting them in my yard much less writing an entire blog post on them.  But my attitude toward them has changed.

Most of the opuntia on the list are planted in the cactus patch along the creek in the back yard and were acquired from Jean "the cactus guy" we found on craigslist.