A Walk in the Rain

 

I was doing a little happy dance on Monday morning when I woke up to very heavy, gray skies.  By 6:30 AM it was pouring down rain.  What a wonderful surprise.  And a surprise it certainly was, I had checked my weather app Sunday evening and saw that predictions were for more extreme heat.  

The minute the rain slowed to just a sprinkle, I went out for a short walk.  I wanted to take full advantage of the 79 degree (26C) temperature.  

By the time I got back home, my hair and clothes were wet.  It felt so good!

Desert Snow and Prickly Pears

 

I spent most of my day yesterday doing a major clear-out.  My clear-out started as a minor search for something but it rapidly grew into a much bigger project.  Consequently, I didn't have anything new to post so I looked back at the photos I took when I visited the Desert Botanical Garden back in July.  Above is a plant called a Desert Snow bush. It does look like a patch of snow in amongst the greenery.

I also took this photo of a prickly pear cactus with lots of colorful fruit on it.  I framed it so that memorial wall was in the background.  I wrote about that wall back in 2019 and included both day and night photos of it.

Pomegranate Tree

 

Pomegranate trees grow well here in Arizona and about this time of year, they are full of fruit almost ready for the picking.  You can see just a touch of pink showing up on these two.

It won't be long before these three are ready to be picked and put to good use.

I see those ruby-red seeds used in salads and other dishes.  Or they can be crushed and made into a syrup and used as flavoring for drinks and other things.  

Do any of you use pomegranates?

Backyard Desert Rose

 

I was at my friend Glenda's house Thursday evening and one of her desert rose plant produced another flower.  Actually it produced two blooms but the windy rain storm we had this week knocked one of the blooms off.  

This is the same plant that had a bloom a few weeks ago.  Her other three plants still haven't produced a bloom.

If you look closely, you will see another bud at the base of this bloom.  She should get a second flower in the next few days.

With the Macro Lens

 

In that same batch of photos from 2012 that I posted yesterday, I found several photos taken with the macro lens.  I can't believe I carried all that equipment to the garden back then.  My shoulders and arms must have been a lot stronger then.

That macro lens was the last lens I bought for that Sony DSLR and I loved using it.  I took a lot of great close-up shots with it.  

Garden Walks in July, Part 3

 

July of 2020 gave me another after-the-storm opportunity for a walk.  You can see the rain droplets on this desert rose bloom.

This barrel cactus was also soaking up the water.  It was also crowned with a circle of pretty blooms. 

In 2025, I also got a July walk at the garden.  That gives me a bit of hope that I might get one this year.  I photographed this agave plant with another plant growing up through its branches.

I also found some pretty blooms on the guayacan plant which surprised me.  I didn't expect to see these blooms in the July heat.

That's my round-up of Desert Botanical Garden July visits.  Hopefully all this effort to find photos from July will pay off with a nice, cooling monsoon storm in the next few weeks.

Garden Walks in July, Part 2

 

I found exactly three photos dated July 2014 and only one of those made it on my blog. My comment on that post said the temperature was tolerable but I'm guessing since I only took 3 photos, I didn't stay very long. This view of Camelback Mountain was one of the three photos.

I had better luck in 2015.  It appears that my walk followed a monsoon storm because all the photos show the appearance of water droplets.

These pretty purple flowers are enjoying the summer rain.

In July of 2017, I was lucky enough to find a flock of peach-faced lovebirds munching on some flowers so I was able to get several shots of those colorful birds.

I also photographed this Desert Rose tree that had been planted in a dish bonsai style.  I don't recall ever seeing this again so I wonder what happened to it.

I have a few more from past July walks tomorrow.  

Garden Walks in July, Part 1

 

The July weather has heated up significantly over the past two weeks.  We've gone from hot to sizzling hot.  I was wishing I could take a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden but it felt too hot over the last weekend.  

That got me to wondering if I've ever been able to walk at the garden in month of July.  I searched through the photo files and I found seven different years where I got to take a walk in July.  So I thought I'd post some photos from those seven years.  Above and to the left are two that were taken in 2012.  I like that sun flare in the top photo.  It looks like the sun was just peeking over the mountain and through the heavy clouds.  Agave blooms appear in the left photo.

Heavy clouds will be a theme through all of these photos.  Cloudy skies or rain are the only things that would make if cool enough to be walking outside in July.

In July of 2013, I snapped this photo of a hummingbird having a little rest from all that buzzing around that I normally see.

I also snapped a photo of this sunflower with something purple blooming in the background.  

I'll show you a few more July walks photos over the next few days.  Who knows, maybe I'll get the opportunity to take a walk this July.  All we need is a nice, heavy monsoon storm to cool things down.

Bougainvillea

 

Bougainvillea is one plant that is abundant here in the desert southwest.  It is actually, everywhere.  The main reason is that it can take full sun, does not need a lot of water and it blooms all year long.  It also has wicked thorns so when you trim it, be prepared for some scapes and scratches.  

I recently saw a red bush right next to a pink bush and thought they made a great contrast.  

Oh yes, one more thing to keep in mind.  Those petals are like paper and they fall and blow in the wind like crazy.  Clean up is a constant problem.  That's another thing to keep in mind when planting these beauties. 

Garden Decorating

 

If you need to spruce up your garden a bit, the garden center also has everything you might need such as these colorful ceramic pots.  There are always lots of these at the garden centers here because desert soil is not the best for growing things.  Most people have lots of pots in their gardens where they can control things a little better.

For those without a live pet to roam their garden, a cute little statue might work.  I thought this little fellow was quite cute but, he had a rather large price tag hanging around his neck.  Luckily the iPhoto "erase" tool made it disappear completely and you'd never know it was there.

I also liked this colorful pot in southwestern colors and design.  And, that wooden rabbit was pretty cute too.

There was lots more to see at the garden center besides the flowers and hummingbirds.

Copper Cluster

 

I was attracted by this cluster of copper colored pottery when I was at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I found them decorating a quiet little corner near the herb garden.  Those three pots together were complimented by the copper-like wall in the background.  It makes a lovely scene with a warm glow.

The Dog and The Rose

 

My friend Glenda was dog-sitting for her neighbors two weeks ago so when I visited her I got to spend some time with Pepper, this friendly little pup.  

Behind Pepper are my friend's three Desert Rose plants.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that she was feeling bad that none of her desert rose plants had bloomed yet.

Well, it finally happened!  She got one tiny pink bloom on this  plant just this last week and you can see a bud for one more.  

Her patience paid off!  Maybe it will encourage the other two plants to start producing blooms.

Shades of Purple

 

On my afternoon walk at the Desert Botanical Garden, I found some things blooming in shades of purple which happens to be a favorite color of mine. Above is an artichoke thistle showing off with its lavender blooms.

The blue potato bush was also sporting some purple blooms.  According to Google, this is also called a Paraguay Nightshade.

There were a lot of purple daisies scattered around the garden.

I hadn't seen any lemon beebalm in the garden for a number years so I was happy to see a few of them making an appearance.

Purple flowers always make me happy.

Agave Bloom

 

I saw this yellow bloom peeking out between the branches of an agave plant.  Usually these blooms rise on a long stem several feet above the actual plant but this one was right down at the same level as the plant.  I zoomed in close in the shot above to get a good look at the flower.  I see some ants were also having a closer look.  

I do enjoy the vast variety of plants to be found in the desert southwest.

Flowering Trees

 

I was at the Scottsdale Civic Center last weekend where I spotted two trees that were blooming at the moment.  This pink one I believe is called Rosy Trumpet tree.

For this one with the white blooms I used Google to identify it as an Amelanchier.  Google indentification can be hit or miss so if any of you plant experts know better, please let me know.

Those Hidden Assets

 There are many times when I take a photo thinking I'm looking at a single subject and then when it's downloaded I find something else hidden there.  In the photo above, I found a tiny little insect sitting on the wheat shaft.

On this photo of a jimsonweed bloom, I found a tiny little ant climbing up the shaft coming out of the center of the bloom.  

I took this photo of the Chihuly towers that greet visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden just at dusk.  I thought the dwindling light would make a good background.  But after downloading the photo, I notice and airplane coming in for a landing at Sky Harbor Airport.  Can you see it?  It's just about to go behind the mountain.  

You never know what might be lurking in the background. 

Positioning the Subject

 

I have two more photos from the "Favorites" file today.  This one was taken in May of 2014 when I spotted this cactus with an agave plant situated a few feet away.  I like the way they complimented each other.

Almost exactly a year later in May of 2015, I photographed the same cactus and this time it appeared centered with the agave plant.  The same two plants, just two different perspectives.  Which do you think works best?

Valentine's Day

 

I found this giant heart at Biltmore Fashion Park recently.  I've never seen them put something out for Valentine's Day so it was a nice surprise.

Then, when I was looking for those photos of the iron saguaro I posted yesterday, I came across this photo taken years ago of a heart-shaped bloom on a slipper plant.  We call them slipper plants but their real name is euphorbia lomelii which is a drought resistant plant making it a perfect plant for growing in the desert.  The blooms tend to look like a lady's slipper but this one is a perfect heart.  

Happy Valentine's Day