Four Things About The Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden

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Thing #1:  "You can do this at your house!"  landscapes around a residential-scale structure, to illustrate how local gardens can be climate-appropriate without sacrificing beauty, function, or comfort.












Thing #2:  formal plant arrangements with stone and tile covered walls and terraces, for visual impact.









Thing #3:  areas planted with a naturalistic mix of desert trees, shrubs, grasses, perennials, and succulent plants.












Thing #4:  habitat for native birds, reptiles, insects, and unfortunately, rabbits--several areas were rabbit fenced to protect the plants. 
Great Horned Owl sleeping in Mesquite tree:
 Cactus Wren
 Bird nests everywhere




More Cactus Wrens.



A young lizard (genus Aspidoscelis?):
 House finch eating Lantana berries:
Bee and ants in Ferocactus townsendianus:

We really enjoyed our visit.  Many of the paths are well shaded by Mesquite and Parkinsonia trees, so despite the heat, it was not uncomfortable due to all the shade.  The mix of different types of landscaping was truly lovely as well as instructional.  
 
 

Comments

  1. SaursOctober 25, 2015 at 6:25 PM

    Great photography here. Captures what seems to me to be the primary difference between southwestern US and Californian landscaping: there's a lovely low-key, naturalistic calm about successful examples of the former, with an emphasis on human comfort but not at the expense of the vignettes (so, thankfully, no outdoor rooms constructed around and to fit pillows and firepits and swimming pools). A lot less frantic and frenetic than I'm used to seeing.

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 26, 2015 at 10:49 AM

      The tyranny of the throw pillow. The harsher climate is more in charge in AZ than in mild So Cal. Our greater flexibility may be a bit of a drawback at times.

      Delete
  2. Gerhard Bock (Succulents and More)October 25, 2015 at 8:50 PM

    Beautiful photos and insightful commentary. Looks like you had nice even light.

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 26, 2015 at 10:52 AM

      There was a thin overcast during our visit, so the light was surprisingly soft. I noticed right away how different the light was in AZ; rather amazing what constantly taking photos will reveal.

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  3. LuisaOctober 25, 2015 at 9:13 PM

    Great photos and insight. Habitat, habitat, habitat (it's practically my little mantra): The owl, the whiptail, the cactus wren on a cactus (what a catch!)... terrific landscapes for humans and other critters to enjoy. "Beauty, function, and comfort -- and climate-appropriate." Thanks for this!

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 26, 2015 at 10:55 AM

      The difference in bird count between a property of lawn and a few foundation shrubs and a property with climate-appropriate shrubs and trees and butterfly plants--it's night and day.

      Delete
  4. danger gardenOctober 25, 2015 at 10:14 PM

    Sign me up!

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  5. MulchMaidOctober 26, 2015 at 3:23 PM

    This garden is now on my must-visit list. In addition to the beautiful native plants, I love the use of stone, mosaic and concrete in such a modern - but quiet - way. You must have enjoyed yourself there!

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 26, 2015 at 6:37 PM

      I recommend a visit. It was great! They had plants for sale, too.

      Delete
  6. Anna KOctober 26, 2015 at 8:48 PM

    Valuable lessons indeed. Love the blue-tailed skink - or, at least that's what it reminded me of. Such a cool lizard!

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 27, 2015 at 7:19 AM

      I looked through a lizards-of-arizona site trying to id it. Learned that the blue color is mostly seen in juvenile beasties, almost all of them grow out of the color as they mature--it looked most like a whiptail rather than a skink, but I'm no lizardologist. Here the Western Fence Lizard blues up in breeding season. It's such a gorgeous color!

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    2. teejayOctober 28, 2015 at 12:32 PM

      (do you know Allison Shock of Scottdale? She is a lizardologist, and has a nice naturalist-leaning fb page as well as a blog at three star owl. alias is cranky owlet. hubby is a prof of rockology.)

      Delete
  7. dianneOctober 26, 2015 at 8:48 PM

    Such a lovely place, the gardens are wonderful with so many plants and birds...cute lizard too! Plants for sale, I would love that!!! :)
    xoxoxo ♡

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 27, 2015 at 7:21 AM

      The place was so alive with little animals--that made it all the more delightful.

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  8. Kris PetersonOctober 26, 2015 at 9:05 PM

    I love all that wonderful stonework. And the photo of the sleeping owl - what a great catch! I didn't know that house finches would eat Lantana berries - now I know to leave those along. Thanks for the post!

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 27, 2015 at 7:24 AM

      The stone was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous and so beautifully done It added so much to the ambiance and was I am assuming local stuff. Arizona is full of beautiful stone.

      It was a volunteer docent that pointed out the owl--all hail the volunteers! They were wonderful and knowledgable, too.

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  9. NellOctober 28, 2015 at 7:56 AM

    The shade cloth over the beds -- is it red just for decorative reasons? Or is this something to do with UV or selective light absorption...?

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 29, 2015 at 2:52 AM

      I wondered about that--but there wasn't anyone around to ask, and I forgot to ask when we found a volunteer. Gives me an excuse to go back and find out. ;^)

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  10. teejayOctober 28, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    Lovely images and commentary. I can always count on your emails to lighten up the day with thoughtful writing and illuminating images. Thanks so much!

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  11. teejayOctober 28, 2015 at 12:27 PM

    I think its a whiptail

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  12. teejayOctober 28, 2015 at 1:01 PM

    pps: checking Allison's blog for possible whiptails, I followed a link to her Tucson friend Kate's blog, where K listed a link to some San Diegans' herp blog. love blog-hoppin. anyway check out for photos, herpindiego.

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  13. DeniseOctober 28, 2015 at 2:56 PM

    Wonderful to revisit this excellent BG with you!

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    1. Hoover BooOctober 29, 2015 at 2:54 AM

      It is quite excellent; we had a great visit. Thanks!

      Delete
  14. LesNovember 7, 2015 at 2:37 PM

    I have really enjoyed all of your AZ posts, especially this one.

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    1. Hoover BooNovember 7, 2015 at 3:59 PM

      I so enjoy your beautiful blog, happy to be able to "pay back" a tiny bit of entertainment.

      Delete

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