My visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ

Great shots Karen!! Just what I needed today!!!!

Prickly & very interesting.

Amazing how prickly things can be so pretty

Thanks, everyone! Of course all those prickly things were even prettier in person. If any of you guys ever get out there, then this is such a great place to visit.

Karen

Great photos... glad you enjoyed your visit here :)

Thanks, FrangipaniAZ!

Karen

After revisiting this thread from 2011, I realized that I never added more pics to it. I had so wanted to share more. Don't know what happened. Could have been that I just got really busy, and back then it was so much more time-consuming to post pics one at a time. So here are the rest of the pics from that visit.

I think the first shot is an organ pipe cactus. The next 3 are of barrel cacti, and a woman photographing them.

Karen

Collection of cacti in first and second pic. Second is a boojum tree. My sister Dawn in third pic. Collection of prickly pear and I think yucca under a desert shrub (maybe mesquite or palo verde) in last pic.

Karen

Dawn relaxing on a patio under mesquite tree (I think). Second is some kind of nice looking shrub. Third is of one of the several buildings there. Fourth is an interesting hanging plant. Last is barrel cactus detail.

Karen

....

Second pic features a boojum tree alongside the building, and another one in the fifth pic. Third and fourth pics also have massive saguaro cacti.

Karen

Petroglyph and rock grinding bowl with grinding stone in first pic. Don't know the name of the cacti in the next 2 pics (should have been taking pics of the names of everything, but didn't. Usually do.). Fourth is a saguaro skeleton. Last is another boojum tree.

Karen

Oddball looking plant, maybe related to aloe. 2 pics of quail (California?). A nice place to sit. Last is a naturalized desert area.

Karen

Well, I was wrong about the order of the pics in the last post. The second pic is the oddball plant. The first pic is the naturalized desert area. Then the 2 quail pics and the sitting area.

More pics of the naturalized desert area.

Karen

More pics of that area with some descriptive signs.

Karen

More of that area. The first pic shows Camelback Mountain strait ahead in the background. The fourth pic is a desert cottontail or maybe jack rabbit.

Karen

More shots of that area with views of Camelback.

Karen

More from that area with more descriptive signs.

Karen

Last pics from the naturalized Sonoran Desert area.

Karen

I think this will be the last of the pics for tonight. Will post more tomorrow if the power stays on.

Karen

Love the cactus...such interesting shapes.....those do look like Calif. quail...how is your sister doing, Karen?

Thanks, Marilyn. Are you asking about my sister Wanda, the one who had the head injury? She is pretty much the same, basically in a vegetative state in a nursing home in Temple, TX. We want to get her moved closer to us somehow, but it's very expensive to do so.

My sister Dawn, who is in the pics here, is now Wanda's medical power of attorney. Dawn is going through a lot of challenges herself now with her hubby, who has cancer. He is getting chemo done now in Albuquerque, NM. He has had 2 surgeries in the past couple of years. Dawn is remaining positive, but I know it's really hard on her.

Here are some more pics. These are from the desert habitat area, which includes areas that show how the native people in these areas lived.

Karen

More from that area, including a desert oasis, with more pics of that in the next set.

Karen

more....

Karen

An area where they had a native crop garden display. Loved the gourds.

Karen

More gourds, etc.

Karen

More from that area...

Karen

Here we entered the Mesquite Bosque (bosque is Spanish for forest).

Karen

Here we entered the Semidesert Grassland.

Karen

Then we entered the Chaparral, where we saw a Western Apache household.

Karen

Then we saw a Spanish Garden area.

Karen

We saw a Mesquite corral, among other things.

Karen

We then went into a different part of the gardens. Soooo many neat things to see here. I would love to go again. That's all for the pics for now. If we don't lose power, I will post more tonight, possibly.

Karen

I'm so sorry both of your sisters have problems....was hoping that Wanda was showing some improvement...just very sad....

Thanks, Marilyn. It's very sad.

Yesterday my computer went down. I can't get it to completely come on. Will have to take it to get fixed. Can't post anymore pics on this thread till then.

Karen

I really, really want to go to this garden. Thanks for the pictures, Karen.
Martha

You're welcome, Martha. It's well worth the visit.

Karen

Karen - I have one of the #6 Cactus. I've had it for probably 20 years. You are welcome to a big piece of it.

Memory, is that a hardy one? I would love a piece of it if that's the case. I do have a hardy prickly pear, but it's not one of those purple ones. It shrivels up in the winter and looks dead, but comes back as good as ever in the spring.

Karen

I will find out if it is hardy this year as I stuck part of it in the ground. If it survives - you can have all you want!