One of the places we visited while our nieces were here from England was-- of course-- the
Desert Botanical Garden. I can't remember if Suzanne had visited before, but I knew Daisy had. We visited the Butterfly Pavilion, and there were plenty of wildflowers in bloom, but all the various types of cactus had yet to really pop. Denis and I are going back tomorrow, so I hope to have several photos of those to share in the future.
Meanwhile, let's see what Daisy, Suzanne, Denis and I got to see!
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| Outside
Gertrude's Restaurant at the Desert Botanical Garden. Although they are
pretty when they bloom, it always makes me sad-- once agaves bloom,
they die. |
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| Agave flowers. |
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| Desert wildflowers. |
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| Desert bluebells. |
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| Daisy and Suzanne at the entrance to the Desert Wildflower Loop. |
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| One lone verbena in a daisy patch. |
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| We're now in the Butterfly Pavilion. Cabbage White butterflies. |
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| Zebra Heliconian. |
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Malachite butterfly courting disaster. (Human feet everywhere!)
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| White Peacock. Why they call this "white" I do not know. |
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Two White Peacocks taking a seat.
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| One of the many paths in the garden. |
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| It was cactus wren day in the garden. This one was grumpy. |
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Owl clover always makes me think of the psychedelic good ole days. It's one of my favorite wildflowers.
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| Daisy
and Suzanne at the Webster Auditorium. The huge cactus behind them is
the cardon. Planted in 1938, it's the oldest plant in the garden. |
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| Shining brightly in the shade. |
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| Shining brightly in the sun. |
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| The
Desert Night-blooming Cereus. Also known as the Queen of the Night. It
looks a bit bedraggled because it does bloom at night, and by noon, the
bloom has almost died. |
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Three squirrels in one shot. Top: gopher squirrel. Middle: rock squirrel. Bottom: ground squirrel. |
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Entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden, complete with Chihuly glass sculptures. |
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Fairy duster. |
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| L to R: Daisy, Denis, and Suzanne, three of the best explorers to have on any kind of expedition. |
I hope you enjoyed wandering through the garden with us. Soon, I'll be sharing our visit to the Musical Instrument Museum.
What a wonderful excursion. Looks like a good time was had by all. And those cactus flowers and wildflowers are beautiful. So glad you had this trip together to one of your favorite spots.
ReplyDeleteSo am I! I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.
DeleteI'm so glad you had such a good trip to the DBG, Cathy. What a lovely way to spend time with your nieces, too! Thanks for the breathtaking photos; the ones of the different butterflies are spectacular, and I'm sure it must have been even more so in person.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was.
DeleteI don't whether I like the flowers or the butterflies best! I do know that in our climate (north Louisiana) the heat and drought are making my garden choices different, and I'm wondering if that owl clover would do well here. If it survives your hot and dry area, it may be something to consider.
ReplyDeleteIt is a spring-blooming wildflower that depends a lot on winter rains-- one of the two times a year that the Sonoran Desert usually gets rain.
DeleteWhat a lovely day you had! Thanks for creating this vicarious visit to share.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Kate!
DeleteWhat a great shot of that cactus wren! And those butterflies are all so beautiful. I look forward to your next visit. :D
ReplyDeleteWe had fun, Lark! :-)
Delete