Friday, February 3, 2012

The Rio Grande Botanic Garden

The botanical garden in Albuquerque is part of a larger environmental park called the Albuquerque Biological Park. The area consists of a Zoo, Aquarium, the Garden and Tingley Beach.
Of course for me the draw was the garden! And lest you’ve lost track of our Desert SW vacation travels it was October when we passed through Albuquerque, so don’t let the fall colors surprise you.
Naturally I loved the stylized Agave in the garden gate, unless it’s actually a Yucca…in which case I still love it.
So lush, not what I think of when I picture New Mexico.
Nor do I think of castles.
The castle and wall are part of the Children’s Fantasy Garden; I chose not to go there.
Several of my favorite plants were inside two very tall glass conservatories. There was a Desert side and a Mediterranean side; we started on the Mediterranean side….
More Callistemon citrinus ‘Little John’ for me to crush on, native to SE Australia.
Coast Banksia (Banksia integrifolia), from E. Australia.
I took this photo because of the small vertical succulent garden on the rocks; it was very well done and inspired me to make something similar.
Chilean Bellflower (Lapageria rosea), the national flower of Chile.
I was so excited to get to see Aloe blooms!
Looking down from the walkway that connected the two sections of the conservatory…
We had to go down to ground level to enter the Desert conservatory and I can’t remember if this Agave scabra X Agave victoria-reginae (according to the sign) was inside or outside.
But we are definitely inside now…an Agave victoria-reginae dying post bloom.
But another lives on.
Agave Ocahui
Love the look of the grass mingling with the Agaves.
Tall branched Yucca rostrata
I regret not being able to get the name of these beautiful Agaves. Can anyone i.d. them?
Bunny Ears (Opuntia microdsys)
Gotta be a Whales Tongue (Agave ovatifolia) with perhaps a Nolina?
And an overall shot back at the “Desert” before we step outside…
Where we spotted a Roadrunner!
The only one we saw on the entire vacation.
Is this not a sexy plant? Sexy!
Ah, more sexy....
Agave felgeri
Cactus as building materials, a Saguaro upright and Ocotillo roofing.
Have you ever wondered what a smashed Opuntia fruit looks like?
Wonder no more…
Wow, an even more magnificent grass and spiky combo!
Another Agave ovatifolia?
Chokecherry (Prunus virginana) showing off some fall color.
I can’t believe I’ve forgotten the name of this plant. It was EVERYWHERE in New Mexico. Sometimes looking lovely, other times not so much. The flowers have a very distinctive odor.
It’s easier to say where the Horsetail is not, than where it is.
And now for something completely different, the Sasebo Japanese Garden…
Complete with Koi…
Hungry Koi that is.
And with that we’ve reached the end of the garden and we back track out…noticing a bit of desert art as we go (I think they lit up at night?)…
And planning to find a cool place in the shade to enjoy a beverage and reflect on all that we’ve seen.

41 comments:

  1. Wow!

    What a great set of photos to share Loree.

    I am a bit a speechless and I think that I will have another good look at them again later.

    I really like the grass and spiky combo, I think that they do go very well together. Mind you I am slightly biased as I have lots of grasses in my garden as I like their shape and form and they seem to like my climate as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gotta love the grasses, especially when they do well in your garden!

      Delete
  2. This garden looks absolutely wonderful! I adore the idea of a "biological" park - it's all part of the same connected world. I'm knocked out by that Agave scabra X Agave victoria-reginae - what a fabulous mixture in one plant! And despite my love of simple forms and limited ornamentation, I love those steel arbors with their delicately incised struts! Okay, that's more than enough gushing and exclamation points for now...this is one for my future travel plans, for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you appreciate the Agave scabra X Agave victoria-reginae, it certainly has a chunky presence doesn't it? Looking at it again I think it was indoors, which had me wondering what caused the scaring on it, looks almost like the after-effect of a hail storm.

      Delete
  3. Lovely, lovely. Thanks for the virtual "visit". Quite a dramatic difference between a Japanese style garden and the desert!

    Is the "another ovatifolia?" a 'Sharkskin'?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dramatic difference indeed! It was a bit whiplash inducing actually.

      I think the leaves were way to thin on that Agave to be a 'Sharkskin,' at least in my experience the leaves on a 'Sharkskin' are very thick.

      Delete
  4. Great tour with commentary, especially enjoyed the focus on combinations.

    The vertical succulent garden on the rocks is inspiring. I need to make a point of doing something similar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet you could come up with a great vertical succulent garden, I look forward to seeing it!

      Delete
  5. Next time I'm here, I need to stop by!!! Love the shots of the roadrunner!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish we had seen more of them, you know actually running along side the road!

      Delete
  6. Fantastic visit. I do like the gate (i think its an Agave too, rather than a yucca!)

    The glass house is really good too, I do like the arrangement, has a real naturalistic look to it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I dream of replacing our chain-link gate with a metal agave cut out. Someday!

      Delete
  7. Meep meep... I think I've seen that place before! Hopefully, you got your Opuntia, Yucca and sunshine fix.

    Was that Mr. Danger walking in front of you, under the rose garden arbor? (I designed the original rose garden, with beefier ramadas and a mix of lush vines and desert plants...but that was negated...still cool spaces).

    I'll forward this to my curator friends there, Jon and Dave. Maybe they'll help you with plant I.D.?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes that was Mr. Danger...and no he doesn't naturally have a white spot on the back of his head!

      Was your design implemented and then eventually negated?

      Thanks for the offer to forward, always nice to have proper I.D.!

      Delete
  8. I saved this blog post for the end of the work day because I needed something to look forward to. And I'm glad I did. What a spectacular place. How did you ever tear yourself away from there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to give you a treat at the end of a long work day!

      Actually I think we closed the place down, or mighty close. We were there with family and little ones so we actually started in the aquarium. The garden is a huge HUGE space with lots of land to cover (some areas better than others, naturally) so we were pretty wiped out by the time we were done.

      Delete
  9. Holy spiky plants! That was thoroughly enjoying. That must have been some great fun with the camera, excellent photos. I'm hoping to drive south this summer, it's been so long since I've been to a proper botanical garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed! Perhaps a trip to the bay area for you? Berkeley Botanical, SF Botanical in Golden Gate Park, Ruth Bancroft Garden...plus visits to Flora Grubb, Cactus Jungle, Annie's Annuals...oh my!

      Delete
  10. sandy lawrenceFebruary 04, 2012

    What an enjoyable tour, Loree! Thanks. What is the plant in the photo just above the chokecherry?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm guessing it's a Yucca, either Y. rostrata or Y. rigida.

      Delete
  11. Loree, than nameless agave with the slim leaves reminds me of a lophantha, but who knows. What a fabulous place, added to future road trips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes...I see that...you could be right!

      Delete
  12. Weve been through Albuquerque a number of times. I had no idea of this treasure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad I could bring it to your attention!

      Delete
  13. Just a quick shout out to let you know that I've awarded you "Versatile Blogger" - yours is a wonderful blog :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Chamisa (Golden Rabbitbrush) is the plant whose flowers have a "distinctive odor." It's an allergen and in the fall when it blooms, it permeates the air. The scent is very overpowering. You were kind in your description of the scent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes!!! I can't believe I'd forgotten that name, thank you. I thought I would be able to remember it by thinking of the old yellow chamois cloth my dad used to dry his car...but that didn't work.

      Delete
  15. Judging from the bi-directionality of the teeth, I'd have to say the mystery agave is an agave xylonacantha . The other plant a few pictures later that looks similar to a nolina is a dasylirion longissimum (Mexican Grass Tree). I had one survive a couple winters in the ground but it didn't survive last winter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Dasylirion longissimum kicked the bucket it's first winter in the ground. I didn't select a very good spot for it. Thanks for the name on the Agave, I think you've got it...and I love it's common name "Saw Leaf Agave"

      Delete
  16. I sure hope my Dasylirion longissimum in the pipe planter doesn't kick the bucket! I love it so! I enjoyed all the pics of the garden. Lots of lovely agaves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet yours is a much more suitable climate than mine was.

      Delete
  17. Wonderful series. I've just started collecting grasses and I got some wonderful ideas for pairing from your pictures. How wonderful for you that you get to visit such gorgeous gardens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed, I am very lucky to live where I do and be able to travel a bit.

      Delete
  18. And yet again you provide our window on the world: a sunnier, warmer, drier world we can bask in when our own gets us down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Like flying on a cloudy grey day when you get up above the clouds and realize the blue sky has been there all along!

      Delete
  19. Well the danger gardener must have been enthralled. Nothing sends me into zone envy like Aloe flowers (and maybe Bismark palms). Did they have to check you bag on the way out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As tempting as it was to grab and run I didn't have my gardening gloves with me...and everything I wanted was quite spiky!

      Delete
  20. What a wonderful place! Great cactus and succulents! I would like to visit that awesome place some day! Thanks for the tour and a real roadrunner siting! Beep beep!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The roadrunner siting was all because of the husband, luckily it stayed put long enough for me to arrive with the camera.

      Delete
  21. Loree, I've been meaning to comment on your blog for some time now, I've really been enjoying your irreverent mix of photos and words that focus on both the plants and the hardscape details. This particular post on Albuquerque was particularly enjoyable to read. Keep up the good work, and have you ever considered moving to northern California, where your tastes in plant materials would be ever so much easier to accommodate? It has been fun to see Portland gardens and neighborhoods through your eyes, and I admire your dedication to keep posting so frequently!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you David! A move to the Bay Area almost happened back in the early 2000's but Portland happened instead (well actually marriage and a job transfer happened instead). We now talk about Tucson...maybe someday. I would be in plant heaven.

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!