Wednesday, May 05, 2021

April at the Desert Botanical Garden

When we went to the Desert Botanical Garden in March, Denis and I could see that all sorts of plants were getting ready to bloom, so we knew we'd have to come back-- and it didn't take us long!
 
It's good to see a place that takes the pandemic seriously. The garden is closed to all except for those who have purchased tickets ahead of time. Since Denis and I are members, I go online to secure a day and time for our visit, and I'm emailed passes that can be electronically scanned at the garden entrance. If the day and time aren't available, I choose a different one. Once in the garden itself, signs are posted everywhere: NO MASK, NO GARDEN. NO KIDDING. It makes me wonder how our governor feels when so many places have completely ignored his lifting of all COVID restrictions. Personally, I like knowing that there are estabishments that take the health and safety of their employees and patrons seriously.
 
Anyway, it was beautiful weather for our visit, and I wore out a camera battery. Out of more than 150 photos, these are the ones I'd like to share with you. The post is a long one, so I'm not going to caption each and every photo. Why ramble on and on when just the photo will do? I hope you enjoy your visit to one of my favorite places here in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
 
Denis and I love visiting when the palo verde trees are in bloom. Palo verdes are the state tree of Arizona, and they can turn the landscape to gold. You can see large Chihuly glass sculptures to the right.

 
Just inside the entrance, a huge display of prickly pears was blooming its ever-lovin' head off, but when I looked down at a corner, there were some desert bluebells that had managed to sneak in.

 
Another type of prickly pear. Bees and other insects were in their element with all the flowers in bloom.

 
This is one of two mourning doves that I saw nesting in a cactus. It may look uncomfortable, but a cactus like this is good protection from snakes because yes, snakes can climb cacti to eat the eggs.


I think living in the desert has given me a deeper appreciation of shade and the color green. The Desert Botanical Garden is an oasis.


The next few photos are from the desert wildflower loop trail.








When the palo verdes are in bloom, the light can have a greenish-gold cast.


Cardon cactus is the world's largest species of cactus. This one outside the Webster Auditorium is one of the oldest plants in the garden. It's been here since 1938.


Cardon cactus blooms


One of the many water features I love at the garden. As you can see, I'm far from being the only photographer who visits.




This young roadrunner stopped to allow us a photo op, which was a miracle because there was a screaming child close by. Denis let me use his shot since he was in a better position than I was. Shortly afterward, the roadrunner came to visit us while we were sitting at the Patio Cafe.






One of the flowers on an agave bloom stalk. I think it's sad that, once it blooms, the agave dies.


Not all the cactus cooperated. Like this one.


We'll have to go back again to see if we can catch any of this species that will allow us to take its picture.


This is the reason why I have a tendency to pay attention to the holes in cacti. You never know what you'll see flying in or out.


I think this is my favorite of those that were in bloom.


Gorgeous, isn't it?


Thanks for coming along on our visit. I hope you enjoyed it!

16 comments:

  1. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing.

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    1. You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Thanks so much for sharing these beautiful views. And I'm so glad you were able to visit one of your favorite places.

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    1. It's called slapping extra bracing on the leg and then when I get home, heading straight for an Elevation Point. I'm tired of letting a body part dictate so much of my life, and it's doing well now anyway.

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  3. These are amazing photographs, Cathy! How absolutely gorgeous. And I really love the different shades of spring you captured in them. Anyone who says there's no color in the desert isn't looking.

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  4. Looks like you had a wonderful visit! Love the mourning dove nest in the cactus--those spines would certainly keep me from bothering them. Your photos reminded me of The Living Desert book I had as a child. Mother let us read anything, but my father always kept us in children's nonfiction. :)

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    1. My mother the librarian let me read anything I wanted, but I tended to keep a happy medium between fiction and nonfiction-- and I know she kept an eye on what I read. (So did at least one of my teachers in high school.)

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  5. Thanks for sharing your visit with us, Cathy! Spring is beautiful. I think my favorite color of spring is bright pink, like those last two cactus photos. Near me that color is found in the crab apple blossoms that are so abundant.

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    1. I would be hard pressed to choose just one color. There have been springs here in the desert when the valleys and mountainsides are covered in blankets of gold and blue and purple and scarlet and white and... :-)

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  6. The flowers are quite incredible. I didn't even know about the variety of cactus flowers until I started toe see the Botanical Gardens photos. And I love the animals who manage to use cacti for their needs.
    My parents let me read what I wanted to read. I loved Beverly Cleary books and then Nancy Drew. At 13, I started to read "adult" books by Steinbeck, Sinclair, etc. But my father drew the line at one trashy book my 14-year-old friends were reading. I read it anyway (I was a teenager) and agreed with him. From then on, I didn't necessarily read what they were reading and developed my own teen list of authors.

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    1. I only remember two girls who were roughly my age who came to the library, and they both read sappy romances that I didn't care for at all. So I've basically gone my own way my entire reading life.

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  7. Yes, I read books friends were reading when we moved to New York, when I was 13 into a new environment. I needed to make friends, and I was reading their recommendations, while still reading books my parents suggested.
    And at 13, I was so into the books that I temporar stopped eating meat after reading The Jungle. And it was like that until I figured out my reading taste. And I got into reading Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe and Perry Mason book at that point. Probably my father's influence.

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    1. There are all sorts of influences on our reading lives.

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  8. I live in a quasi desert region but we are headed to Palm Springs soon and I am really looking forward to all the desert beauty. Your photos are lovely. I am living vicariously through your outings as I've not gone out much.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my photos, Ti. Hopefully there is still some of that desert beauty to be found in Palm Springs. It's been heating up over here. Denis and I visited Palm Springs...5 (?!) years ago and were impressed, although going through all those wind turbines to get there was a bit intense. I want to head back that way to go to Death Valley for the first time and to Bodie for a second.

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