(Photo By Mark Brodie/KJZZ)

Some of the 1,800 cacti brought from New Jersey to Phoenix.

(Photo By Mark Brodie/KJZZ)

Raul Puente Martinez with some of the new cacti.

A couple of guys rent a U-Haul, pack it with about 1,800 potted cacti and drive cross-country. That’s not the opening line to a joke, or an upcoming movie trailer – but actually a true story.

Desert Botanical Garden took in the plants last year, and Raul Puente Martinez helped get them to Phoenix. He’s the curator of Living Collections. Standing in one of the garden’s greenhouses, he spoke about the acquisition.