A CACTUS enthusiast is hoping his plants will bring home the silverware from the Dorset County Show for the 17th year in a row.

David Ennals, 56, of Toller Porcorum, has been exhibiting cacti and flowers at the event and accumulating accolades since 1994, when he first won the top prize in the cactus class.

For the past two years, his incredible cactus displays – which are made up of 80 or 90 cacti – have also won the Townsend Perpetual Cup, in the open horticultural display section.

Mr Ennals, who is chairman of the parish council for Toller Porcorum, has been interested in cacti since the age of 12 when his mother brought one home for him.

He said: “I grow the plants, and my wife Jane does the arranging – it’s a bit like flower arranging, only spikier!

“I won first prize for exhibiting cacti in the cactus class in 1994, when the Show was held at Came Down and believe I have won the class every year since then.

“I have always had a passion for cacti but got more seriously into it when the children left home.”

Mr Ennals said it can take five years to grow a cactus to Show standard. His plants live in a greenhouse and in his conservatory and grow at different rates – he has tended some of them for 15 or 20 years. Some of the cacti grow to six feet tall.

Mr Ennals enjoys seeing the cacti flower and even eats the fruits of some of them.

He said: “It is a way of life. My fascination stems from growing the cacti from seeds and seeing them grow into mature plants, with the shape of the spines and the arrangement of its flowers.

“You can eat the cactus fruits – I nibble away at them, but am careful not to eat the seeds, which can be sown into more plants.

“I only do it for the love of the hobby. It is not about winning prizes, but it does give you a lift to see the reaction of people when they see the display, and at least over the past two years, I hope I have encouraged others to grow some of these fascinating plants.

“This year I will be coming back to see if I can defend my trophy – it would be nice to see if I can do it 17 years in a row.

“But I’m not sure how I would rate my chances, it’s been a bitterly cold winter and cacti don’t like the frost.”

Mr Ennals is a member of the British Cactus & Succulent Society and also on the Dorset County Show’s horticulture committee.

The closing date for members of the public who wish to enter any of the horticulture classes at the Dorset County Show is Tuesday 24 August.

Cash prizes and trophies are on offer for the winners. As well as cacti, the flower classes also include pot plants, hanging baskets, dahlias, roses, and chrysanthemums. Competitions in the vegetables and fruit classes include the longest runner bean, the heaviest onion, heaviest pumpkin and the heaviest marrow.

Children can have lots of fun over the summer holidays practising for the junior classes such as fashioning an animal or alien out of vegetable or plant materials, decorating flower pots, making edible necklaces or growing the biggest sunflower head.

Junior classes cater for three age ranges: seven years and under, eight to 12 years and 12 to 16 years. You can view a full list of classes and fill out an online entry form by clicking on the schedule at http://www.dorsetcountyshow.co.uk/pdf/Homecraft/index.html

Show Secretary Sam Mackenzie-Green said: “There really is something for people of all ages to see and do at the Dorset County Show.

“Come and have a look at some of the fabulous floral displays or marvel at the enormous fruit and vegetables.

“Perhaps this year’s Dorset County Show will get people inspired to roll up their sleeves and get cracking in their own veg plot or back gardens next year!”

Editor’s Note: From a press release issued by Dorset County Show, published here in full, because I like the idea of Toller Porcorum being a haven for cacti – or even, when it’s not frosty, a heaven. And I love the line about how he got into cacti more seriously when his children left home. Indeed – you’d want to be careful not to have any mishaps with a six foot cactus.