Country Life

‘Sir, what’s the difference between a cactus and a succulent?’

SUCCULENTS: their very name is mouthwatering—unless, of course, you’re one of those gardeners who lumps them with cacti, their spiny cousins. ‘Sir, what’s the difference between a cactus and a succulent?’ My question was directed at Harry Rhodes, my junior-school teacher, who was passionate about both groups of plants and who would raise them in the little greenhouse in his back garden to sell at the

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