Since I won't be doing an official GardenLine appearance or live broadcast this weekend, I thought I would mention that the Houston Cactus and Succulent Society's May plant sale is set for 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center, 4501 Woodway Drive. That's just inside Loop 610 and part of the Memorial Park area.

A wide variety of plants will be available, including cacti, agaves, aloes, adenium, euphorbia, sansevieria, pachypodium, haworthia, gasteria and dyckia. Many varieties of these plants are rare and will not be found anywhere else in the Houston area. You'll find variegated agaves and sansevieria plus, this year, a wider variety of cacti — especially unique varieties of opuntia. In other words, these are not your grandpa's prickly pears.

All the vendors taking part are society members, and they grow their plants here in Houston. GardenLine listeners who want to get better acquainted with cacti and succulents will find them happy to show you how they succeed. You can see how their soil mixes work, how they propagate rare plants from offsets and cuttings, how they fertilize, and how they water their cacti and succulents. (You may be surprised.) You can also learn how cacti and succulent plants can be added to a landscape. And all their valuable advice is absolutely free.

Also on hand will be Merv Paben, the HCSS favorite and famous potter, who will have her selection of gorgeous glazed ceramic pots for sale. Her pots are especially sized for cacti and succulents. When you buy a plant plus one of Merv's pots, "Cactus Boy" will pot it up for you on the spot at no charge.

The Houston Cactus and Succulent Society is a nonprofit club, and proceeds from this sale go to organizations and entities that work for the conservation and study of these unusual plants.