Rusty Stagecoach and Cowboy

 

I took these photos back in September when I took a drive in the north half of the valley.  These were taken at a landscaping firm in Cave Creek Arizona.  Along with a huge variety of plants, they also sell lots of artistic ornamentations.  So if you are in the market for a rusty stagecoach this is the place to go.  

I always wonder if they have much luck selling these things.  However, I have seen things similar to this in a variety of places so there must be a market for them.

Ride'em Cowboy!

The Small and the Large

 

These three quiver trees are growing in containers at the Desert Botanical Garden.  Quiver trees are native to Southern Africa and their official name is Aloe Dichotoma.  

These quiver trees are on display at a landscaping company I've visited many times in Cave Creek, just north of Scottsdale.  They are pretty impressive when they get big like these.  I think they look kind of exotic.  Which do you like better, the little ones or the big ones?

Looking for Some Beauty

 

It's been an exhausting week here in the U.S.  Politically speaking, that is.  I decided that I'd dedicate my post today to some beautiful things.  It's kind of like breath of fresh air.

I browsed through my photos for some pretty shots and I chose these four.  Above are some pretty iris I photographed at the Japanese Friendship Garden a few years ago.

To the left are some sky flowers that I saw at a local nursery.

Above is a white rose that was once in a bouquet of roses I had at home.  I love this macro shot I took so much that I had it printed on canvas for my house. 

And finally, one more rose growing in the rose garden at Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix.  Ahhh...a big sigh.  That's just what I needed.  

Frontier Town

Cave Creek Arizona is located right next door to Carefree (featured yesterday) in the far north of the valley.  It's quite a tourist location with a Frontier Town shopping center located at it's heart.

Here you can shop around for all kinds of interesting items most of which would remind you of your days in the desert southwest.

I kind of like this rustic furniture but, I didn't take any home with me.  

Things for Inside the House

The Desert Foothills Gardens and Nursery in Cave Creek also has a small store crammed full of some very unique decorator items.  These Chihuly-style glass bowls are very attractive.

Or maybe a light pillar with the look of marble might fit into your abode.

And who wouldn't love a chubby chicken to decorate the kitchen.

Or maybe the chicken's friend the googly-eyed rooster might work.

Visiting this place is quite an experience.  There are all kinds of indoor and outdoor items to enjoy and of course, plants too.

Garden Decorations

Since I had the rusty stagecoach yesterday, I thought I'd show a few more things that can be found at that place in Cave Creek.  It's called Desert Foothills Gardens Nursery and they have a little bit of everything to decorate and landscape a big yard.  You might want some of these very tall stone pillars.

Or maybe a fountain would be appealing.

You can make a stone arch or add an Easter Island style Moai to your yard.

A rusty bull might add a western touch.

Or a smug looking lion might add just the right touch of elegance.  

They have pretty much anything you can think of to decorate your yard and many things you never would have thought of.  

Tomorrow I'll show you some of the decorator items you can find inside their little store.

Road Trip

I'm headed out today on a little weekend road trip so I might not be around to comment on sites for a few days.  I will however have posts up every day while I'm gone.

Fortunately I'll be driving a nice. air conditioned car and not riding in the rusty stagecoach that I found at a landscape nursery in Cave Creek Arizona.  That will make my trip a lot more comfortable than traveling this way.

While in Cave Creek...

I can't drive all the way out to Cave Creek without having some mole at El Encanto restaurant.  When I had it two years ago, the flavors stuck in mind as some of the best mole I've eaten around here.

And, I wasn't disappointed.  Delicious as usual and enough to take a little home for lunch the next day.  I do love a well made mole sauce and this place does it very well indeed.

The place is also very attractive with a nice little pond in front and lots of Mexican tile work.  This was the view from my table.  Each of those partitions has a full length window in between so that those seated inside also have a view of the pond and the ducks who live there.

Trees & Bees

Does anyone remember these trees?  I posted a photo of these same trees two years ago when I visited this place out in Cave Creek Arizona.  You can see that post here.  Sunday was a gorgeous fall day in the Phoenix area, perfect weather for taking a drive somewhere.  I headed north out toward Cave Creek and Carefree and along the way I passed this place so I decided to stop.  It's grown by quite a bit since I was there two years ago and there is more construction going on with all kinds of different styles of landscaping on display.  The trees are Aloe Dichotomy, native to Africa.

There was of course, a wide variety of cactus for sale on the property including some barrel cacti that were in full bloom.  This one was especially popular with the bees.

On my way out, I noticed this building that looks like it's for display purposes.  It made a very nice southwestern scene with all those cactus and the adobe construction.  With all the construction going on at this place, I'll have to make a point of visiting again in another year or two and see what they've done.

Rusty Horses

The Cave Creek and Carefree towns both have numerous art galleries to visit.  When I saw this beauty, I had to pull over to get a picture.

In fact, there were quite a few rusty horses running along side the road but, these weren't quite as striking as the one pictured at top.  He looks like he has fire in his eyes.

A touch of Africa

On my way to my hiking destination on Saturday, I passed the Desert Foothills Gardens Nursery located in Cave Creek Arizona.  I was struck by the landscape around the place and made a u-turn to check it out.  I located one of the owners and asked if it was okay to take a few pictures of the unique landscape and he not only agreed but pointed out the more unusual species in the garden.  For instance, the trees are Aloe Dichotoma, native to Africa.  He said that full size trees like those in the display sell for $30,000.00 each.  Yikes!  I guess I won't get one even if they are fun to look at.

Below is a close up view.