One word: Opuntia. Their spines will help keep critters away they are hardy enough to overwinter where I am, so will manage your 'winter', and they have really pretty flowers.Yes I really like the selection in the Hardy section and they would probably do best in our climate, big temp swings between day and night. 4C is common at night, up to 27C during the day in the summer. The website suggests to wait until overnight lows are above 4C at night before ordering, protects them during shipping, so I will probably wait to order til the end of this month. Gives me time to make a decision, I want too many of them already!