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Desert Garden Ablaze with Color

Jeff

The desert has been ablaze with color over the last two weeks reaching its peak perhaps just a few days ago. It is still stunning in the variety of colors and blooms brought on by more than the customary amount of spring rains thus far.

The Palo Verdes are always a treat, but this year they have outdone themselves.

The contrast of the yellow flowers against the blue sky is wonderful.



Here is a close up of the flower clusters on one portion of a branch in our backyard.



The color palette is expanded below when the Palo Verde in the foreground leads the viewer to the flowers of the Orange Jubilee or Orange Bells hybrid (Tecoma Hybrid).



Naturally a closeup of the Orange Bells is called for as well. The clusters are beyond vibrant in the early morning sun.



Each morning at this time of the year, I prepare my coffee looking out our family room window and I am blown away! (To the right and north of the saguaro, but out of view, is Black Mountain which adds even more wonderment to the scene.)



We have some performers starring in our front landscape too. This cactus was started from a cutting just a few years ago and when it blooms, it puts on quite a show. It will eventually grow arms and as a mature plant, may have a dozen or more flowers open at once. I can’t wait! While I am not able to make an absolute identification, I am fairly sure it is a Trichocereus hybrid.





Here is a picture of the mature mother plant from a friend’s house nearby!


Above picture courtesy of L. Herring


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com



Hiking: Yellow-Throated Gilia, Sequoia National Park, CA

Jeff

One of the reasons I enjoy hiking is that it offers opportunities for interesting discoveries; some anticipated and others serendipitous. We were hiking along the Crescent Meadow Loop Trail in Sequoia National Park nearly a year ago when we came across a patch of wildflowers tucked away in a wooded area…


Yellow-Throated Gilia wildflower

It was hard to believe that these were real. The colors were so vibrant and unusual in combination. It was an amazing sight. The next day we were on the Sunset Point Trail and there was a large swath of these wildflowers covering the entire hillside.


Yellow-Throated Gilia wildflower
Love those standouts adding their all white accents in the middle of the patch!

 
“Nature is the art of God.” – Dante Alighieri

Read more about Yellow-Throated Gilia HERE

 

Read more JBRish.com posts:

Hiking/Exploring HERE, Nature HERE, Photography HERE


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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com



Streets of Gold in the Phoenix Desert (Gardening)

Jeff

Palo Verde Tree in flower

As you can see from the photograph above, the desert is decked in gold this time of year. The Palo Verdes (along with some other flowering trees snd shrubs) produce an abundance of yellow blooms. There are streets that are lined with these trees and they build a seasonal hallway of gold.

Streets of gold

The ground is carpeted with spent yellow flower petals adding even more color to the street. While the neighborhoods aren’t paved with gold, they are covered with pretty yellow hues.

Below is a picture of the branches of the Palo Verde tree laden with its delightful burden of yellow flowers.

Palo Verde Tree flowers


JBRish.com originally published this post
All photographs are Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved

 
See more JBRish gardening and desert gardening posts here HERE

Opuntia (Paddle Cacti) – Phoenix, Arizona

Jeff

Opuntia - Paddle Cactus

“Opuntia is the most widespread of all genera in the cactus family. The genus occurs naturally throughout North and South America from as far north as Canada, through the Caribbean, and down into Argentina. With man’s help, however, this species can now be found world-wide where it has escaped cultivation and become naturalized even to the point of being classified as a noxious weed.”
Source: – https://cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Opuntia

While much of the country is still in early spring, the desert is moving quickly through its yearly spring and toward what most would consider summer. As of this writing, we are still in the sweet spot of a bumper crop of blooms. The native desert plants are taking their turns in showing off.

Most of the year our cacti look like a pincushion holding onto its requisite supply of pins, but hidden in the DNA of each of these organisms is the promise of blooming beauty. Some of the blooms like our pink Opuntia (see photos above and below) look as though they would be more at home floating in a tropical drink.

Opuntia - Paddle Cactus

As pretty as these are, many of the cactus flowers have a prime bloom duration of only one day, but what a bloom it is!

You may know Opuntia cacti. They are the “paddle” cactus family. They have large, flat paddle-like growths that look similar to the ears of a number of Walt Disney characters. The picture below better shows the paddles with the pink bloom atop.

To the left of the bloom are “ladies in waiting,” so to speak. The buds will plump until nature tells them it is their turn to open and show off.

Opuntia - Paddle Cactus

A more common Opuntia would be the yellow variety. We have several specimens in our front landscape.

Opuntia - Paddle Cactus

The pile of paddles above is more than five feet tall and if the truth be told, it would probably benefit from a pruning.

This is a closeup of the flower. Note the buds in the corners of the photo.

Opuntia - Paddle Cactus

Some of the paddles have a cascade of blooms that open on the same day and form an amazing vertical line.

Opuntia - Paddle Cactus

While I am enjoying the wonderful blooms in our landscape, I hope to share more of them with JBRish readers.

You can read more about Opuntias and Paddle Cacti at the link above.


JBRish.com originally published this post
All photographs are Copyright by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved

 
See more JBRish gardening and desert gardening posts here HERE

Winter’s Light and Color in the Desert

Jeff

Anyone living in Sonoran Desert will gladly acknowledge the extremes in temperatures with a knowing smile. The winter temps can get as low as freezing and of course the summers, oh the summers, can soar to near 112 degrees plus at times.

One advantage, if you will, is that with the appropriate timing, one can hike and enjoy nature all year long.

Although it is winter in the desert, we still have “fall color.” I am not suggesting that the colors of fall in our desert can compete with New England or other areas of the world where there are an abundance of shades and hues, but we do have some color. Mostly that color is gold and yellow.

We took a hike last week in mid-afternoon when temps were in the mid-50s. This saguaro was haloed in a bright yellow light with the light green and yellow leaves of the plants in front accentuating the columnar display.

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Birds such as this Black Phoebe were enjoying the sun and the nearby stream on this autumnal-like winter’s day.

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As we were leaving the hiking trail and thinking about heading home, I looked back to witness this beautiful vista.

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I thought a closeup would prove even prettier and although it is colorful, I like the wider view above.

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With the contrast of light and dark on the first picture of the saguaro, I thought perhaps with a bit of cropping, it would make a good subject for a black and white picture. Do you like the black and white or the color version?

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JBRish.com originally published this post