Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden

On the way out to the Hoover Dam, we stopped by Ethel M. Chocolate company (developed by the man who made M&M Mars.)  Outside the chocolate company is a botanical garden that is Nevada's largest garden of it's kind.
https://www.ethelm.com/category/visiting+the+factory/botanical+cactus+garden.do

Cactus Garden

I know absolutely nothing about the botanicals that we saw here.  The thing that amazes me is that they are such healthy and beautiful plants and flowers despite the hard life that they have in the desert with a lot of sunshine and very little rain.


Sunshine reflected here

This particular cactus caught my eye because of the heart shape and oval shapes combined with such a pretty pink flower.  


Pink Hearts show God's love

From anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis, you know that I enjoy the variety of color and texture in nature.  So yes, this tree caught my attention.  The leaves die off and create the texture in the trunk.  The dead leaves have one texture, topped with live spikey leaves at the upper part of the trunk and topped with a succulent yellow flower.


In awe of the color and texture of this one plant

True to the shape and texture of the trees and plants in the botanical garden, the pathways were designed to twist and curve through the garden leading you from one to another of the over 300 different varieties of plants.


Beautiful curves and shapes!

I found a general name on the internet for this tree calling it the "Ponytail Palm Tree".  I guess that is like the "Snowball bush" that I grew up with.  It gives you a good description of the plant but not enough information to buy it in a store.


Ponytail Palm Tree

The pale yellow flowers were so beautiful! I wanted to touch them as they almost look like a soft plastic. Despite the fact that these look so close to me, they were definitely out of arms length for me.  This garden is definitely one that you need to tour through when you come to the Las Vegas area.


Beautiful flowers on the palm trees