Botanical Gardens

I almost forgot to go back to Valentine's Day and blog about our visit to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.  Since we had already 'done' Scottsdale, we didn't have time enough to explore the whole site, but we did do two of the trails.  It's full of amazing scenery whichever trail you follow.

It was a cool overcast day, not what we're used to when we come to Arizona, but it made for very pleasant walking and interesting cloud cover.

Randy, Wendy, Pat, Lloyd

Wendy at the entrance - glass sculptures

Cholla in bloom

Prickly Pear and Organ Pipe cactus

A Cactus Wren (I think) on top of a tree)

A beautiful golden barrel cactus

and behind it, a barrel cactus collapsed like a deflated basketball

Cactus Wren (I think)

A field of desert flora

I don't know what these cacti are but the circle of tiny pink blossoms around the top of them made me think of little girls dancing.

This cute little guy was darting all over the cactus without a worry about poking his eyes out!

Wendy and Randy with the Papagos in the background

There was a huge bunch of blossoms on this succulent

Lovely orange blossoms on the hoya (you Arizona bloggers feel free to correct me when I misname some of the animals and plants)

This fuzzy cactus looks like it's covered in long white hair.

There was a family of three rabbits foraging among the cactus.

The Desert Botanical Garden is a lovely place to visit at any time of the year.  There's always something different to see.  The beauty of it is in it's natural uncultivated setting.  And on the second Tuesday of the month admission is free after 1 pm.  Just so you know.

Pat