When John Hall's dad Jim first replaced rose thorns for cactus prickles in his garden more than three decades ago, some in the northern Victorian town of Strathmerton were perplexed.
"Dad's a super creative guy. Back in 1986 he started planting cacti well before planting cacti were even popular," Mr Hall said.
The original half-acre cactus garden has slowly crept across 12 acres (4.8 hectares), and is now Australia's largest cactus farm.
Billed as "a little piece of Mexico on the Murray" and now known as Cactus Country, the family's love of the succulent perennials has led to their farm being named the winner of the Victorian Tourism Award's Tourist Attractions category.
While many businesses suffered during the pandemic, a silver lining for Cactus Country was that people were looking to make the most of their own backyards while in lockdown.
"The business even improved through COVID through plant sales, and garden entry as well was up on last year," he said.
Succulent social content
Social media has played a significant role in boosting the cactus farm's popularity.
"Our Instagram account just kept blowing up," Mr Hall said.
Many of those had made the three-hour journey from Melbourne.
The former quaint family garden is now also a wedding hot spot, with the business fielding up to three wedding inquiries a day.
"We just can't believe how much that is something people really want to come to Cactus Country for, but I guess it is a unique location and it does lend itself to videography and film," Mr Hall said.
The team is now hoping to capitalise on the farm's visual appeal after Samsung filmed a mobile phone advert on location, which has spurred on their enthusiasm to host more cinematic productions.
