#iamnewhere STORY COUNT:
ANNY CACTUS' PASSION FOR LIFE

ABOUT ANNY CACTUS
Anny (i) was born on 1 July 1947 in Wateringen (ZH) in a Catholic garden family of eleven children. I was the oldest of the seven girls. So.... always give the example and be. It was hard work together to keep the family alive. After elementary school, my childhood was over.
Despite the advice to learn, I stayed home because I was desperately needed there. While my parents were busy preparing fruit and vegetables for the auction, I took care of the family. I learned a lot from and about nature, such as the process of growing from seed to fruit, the right care because plants can also get sick. My father explained this in a clear and beautiful way.
He felt a lot of love for his profession. This is how my “PASSION FOR LIFE" arose.

IN LOVE ─ ENGAGED ─ MARRIED
I fell in love with Bert van der Meer from Monster (ZH). He was one of the youngest in a Catholic gardener's family of twelve children. Later he became my great love. On June 20, 1969 we got into the wedding boat. Because there was a shortage of houses, we bought a caravan.
On April 14, 1970, our first child was born, a son named Albertus Peter Francis.
Unfortunately, he has become only 40 years old. He died on 28 January 2011 as a result of a nasty illness.
On November 7, 1972 we were delighted with a second son, Jeroen Cornelis Maria. He was three weeks late, but that was really good for us.. Because the four of us would get very tight in the caravan. Space had to be added. Now it turned out that Bert had not only a golden heart, but also golden hands. In his spare time he built a small room on our caravan.

THE RUDDER
Bert worked as an electric mechanic. However, he dreamed of starting his own horticultural business.
In 1979 he bought cactus seeds from his holiday allowance. Back then cacti were a fashion whim. Also with me there were cacti and succulents everywhere. The tomatoes, beans, lettuce, everything we took out of the hobby greenhouse and the cacti went in.

1980 FROM HOBBY TO PROFESSION
With our backyard experience as garden children, it was not difficult to grow beautiful, healthy cacti. It was soon known that our plants were of superquality.
Because the hobby greenhouse was too small, we rented a space on father's garden. The sale of our cacti was a great success.

1982 BURT'S DREAM BEGINS TO BECOME REALITY
An advertisement in the newspaper attracted our attention. FOR SALE in Halfweg, a horticultural company of
5000m2 with a wooden house. We moved to Halfweg, under the smoke of Schiphol. There we have built a cactus nursery in 10 years. With heart and soul we sowed two to
three million seeds of 100 different species.
The most beautiful plants I loved for myself, for our PRIVATE
RALLY. We deserved well. The next step was to replace our wooden house with a real garden house. We went looking for another location where we could work on our dream.






1991 MOVE TO RUURLO
Bert suggested to take a look in Ruurlo where a horticultural business of 1.9 ha of land including a house and a greenhouse of 2000m2 was for sale. RUURLO? ? Not yet heard of. As soon as we reached the Achterhoek, we looked out our eyes. How beautiful it is here!!! We passed a castle where the rhododendrons flourished. Magistral trees formed, as it were, a tunnel across the road. We already knew it: this is the place where we are going to fulfill our dream. The house was a beautiful bungalow. The 2000m2 greenhouse was disappointing and there was also no gas connection. For the construction of a 6000m2 greenhouse we had to apply for a permit from the municipality of Ruurlo (now municipality Berkelland). It took a year before our company was sold in Halfweg. Double loads and a lot of work. The time flew to. The cactus trade went particularly well. We had both Dutch and foreign customers. The future looked promising. But.... One day, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Germany signed an agreement:. Controls of persons at the borders were abolished and customs duties were no longer paid. The trade collapsed and this led to a huge loss of revenue. We couldn't earn our bread with the nursery. We had to look for other possibilities.
My mother came up with the solution: you could start giving tours. That was a good plan.. With the plants from our private collection, Bert laid out a piece of desert in a corner of the greenhouse. This was the start of the CactusOase, the transition from nursery to tourist attraction.

1999 RURAL RENEWAL — Government subsidy for the agricultural sector
As part of the project “Rural Renewal", our company has grown over the years to the current CactusOase experience park. Bowberry? Fishhook cactus? Cow Skull? You can find them among the thousands of different kinds of bizarre, colorful cacti e.a. plants. Walk along the wheelchair-accessible paths and enjoy the brightly coloured birds in the Bird Garden. A Nostalgia House and the permanent exhibition “Farmers' Life" of the historical association
“Old Reurle" bring you back to the first decades of the last century. The Thomas train and
Desert Express makes its way through a 400m2 Mexican rock landscape that has been constructed with the help of Bert and is maintained by railway modelling association “De Seinpaal".
Let yourself be surprised by eg. beautiful art exhibits, cactus pyramid with burial chamber, western town, authentic ornamental dolls. Children have fun in the Kindertuin with a.o. a teepee tent, sandpit, football game, shuffles and a dress up corner. There are also several quests with which they can earn a suitable reward. A (covered) terrace, pond with fish and some naughty ponies make it a good place to stay outside.. In short: warm recommended for young and old, together or alone and both in good and bad weather. In addition to a spontaneous visit, various arrangements are possible.

2020 AGAIN A HITCH
Like a thunderbolt from clear sky we (as well as the whole country) had to deal with government
measures. From one day to the next we had to close our company for visitors. It would only be a few weeks, but it was months. At this time, February 2021, our Park is still closed. A closed Cactus oasis does not mean revenue, but it does mean expenditure.
WHAT NOW?

A NEW CHALLENGE FOR ANNY CACTUS
Aloe vera has always been my favorite plant. I myself use the beautiful, natural, healthy gel that is in the leaf. Also in this difficult time I would like to pass on as much knowledge as possible, which I gained in all the years that Bert was growing the plant, to others.. I buy and sell aloe vera products from my special corner “ANNY CACTUS — PASSION FOR LIFE" behind the counter of the CACTUSOase. Unfortunately, I can't give a workshop on this valuable plant right now.


STILL POSSIBILITIES
Through my webshop e.a. social media, however, I can answer questions, give tips on care or show how we sow — planting — cuttings. On www.annycactus.nl you can order aloe vera products. And if you live nearby you can also make an appointment to pick up your order at the CactusOase. Of course, account must be taken of the measures taken and maintained by the authorities.

Dear people, Bert and I miss you. We really hope that our Adventure Park can open soon so that we can meet you again.
I'm going to make you happy with beautiful pictures and videos on the website. I enjoy that myself and how nice it is if you can let others enjoy it.

HOSTESS ANNY CACTUS