The Lush Desert

We visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix Arizona on December 26, 2007. It was fabulous. The Sonoran desert is a “lush desert”. This sounds like a contradiction. It was filled with wildlife as well as cool plants. We saw rabbits, quail, and lots of birds. Some cool woodpeckers made homes in the cacti that later became homes to other wildlife.

The air was cool and very dry. It was great to be there and experience the diversity of climates that we are blessed with.

I enjoyed seeing an entire neighborhood in Scottsdale landscape in exclusively native gardens: cacti, succulents, palo verde trees set in decomposed granite and dry creek beds of river rocks (my favorite!) The desert landscapes look so much more beautiful than the irrigated lawns etc. in other neighborhoods. I also enjoyed that Phoenix and Scottsdale had a definite style and sense of place. Complete with highway overpasses decorated with lizards with more river rocks forming their spines.

The visit gave me more food for thought in redesigning my landscaping towards a more authentic Southern Californian coastal scrub style. I fear the roses in the back yard may have to go. (Sorry, I’m keeping my white flower garden in the front – even though it’s full of non-natives.)