You'd think it would be easy to find good desert plants in the actual desert. Think again. We scoured nurseries (limited selection), souvenir stops (tacky) and gardens (pricey) before stumbling upon this little gem of a shop hidden in Old Town Scottsdale. Cactus Hut proprietor Jeffrey Shaw has been quietly importing and grooming desert plants for 30 years. His tiny storefront has a stellar variety of unusual succulents and cacti, from the spiny echinocactus, also called a barrel cactus, to the more welcoming hildiwinteria with its fuzzy yellow coat. Popular gifts include magnets with miniature live specimens and prepackaged cactus kits ranging from $7.95 to $26.95. Shipping service is available on most items. It's hard to kill a cactus, but don't get too cocky. Occasionally, a customer will come back after a few days with a dead aloe, says Shaw, wondering how that could have happened when it was watered faithfully twice a day.