We start at our hotel in Tucson. I was so excited to be in the SW, looking at these pictures I can feel that rush again…all the beautiful plants around me and the fabulous places I knew we would be visiting. I couldn’t resist pulling out the camera even just to record the plants around the hotel. Here we have a pair of trimmed-up, potted Agaves backed by Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Bird of Paradise)…
Aren’t they exotic?
The flush of new growth on a large Cycad is a thing of beauty!
As is a little Bouganvilla…
And who doesn’t love a nice twisty Agave Americana variegata?
Later, on in the same trip, we visited The Edge of the Cedars State Park in Utah, there was a museum with relics from Pueblo People (Anasazi) and a restored Kiva…
They also had great labeling on the plants growing on the grounds. I thought this Cliffrose was quite lovely…
Inside the museum this was my favorite exhibit, yucca fibers and a pair of (unfinished) sandals made from the fiber.
That same day we traveled through parts of colorful Monument Valley…some of these pictures were taken from inside our speeding car, hopefully you can overlook the bug smudge on the windows!
Also taken from the speeding car, a couple of images along I-17 heading towards Phoenix.The sight of all those marching Saguaros never ceases to amazing me.
Fast forward through a long grey winter (oh how I wish we really could) and now we’re in sunny California! The city of Calabasas to be exact (near Malibu in the Santa Monica Mountains) at a Hindu Temple...
What does this have to do with gardening you ask? Not much, but I thought it was rather striking, and there were a few trees!
This clump of Agave attenuata was in the parking lot of our hotel in Fillmore, CA. As you can see by the fruit lodged amongst the leaves, there were also Citrus trees.
We assumed these were Orange trees, but now, looking at my photos doesn’t it look like there are Oranges, Limes and Grapefruit growing on the same tree? That would be pure heaven!
Our final stop on this magical mystery tour is Santa Barbara, or as I think of it, Agave attenuata-ville…they are EVERYWHERE!
In the words of my husband they are about as common here as the tulip is in the NW, and about as exciting too. He meant that as a dig, but since I happen to think tulips are perfectly lovely flowers I didn’t disagree.
Thank you for coming along as I clean out my misc. photo files, it feels good to have that done!
Ohh those are fun! It's pissing rain here today so it was a nice warm morning surprise. I love the agave planters in the first pic... And anywhere with agave attenuata as prolific as tulips is EPIC in my books. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteRain!? Yuck. It rained here on Friday, my birthday...which is practically unheard of!
DeleteIt's a smorgasbord of great pics Loree, quite a treat!
ReplyDeleteWay to keep on theme...
DeleteYummy leftovers!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed. Of course I realize now that I went and served the leftovers and I haven't even completed working my way through the rest of the meal! (still have other posts left from those vaca's)! Ah well....
DeleteGreat pics as always......love the first pic, those Agaves look awesome in those shallow planters. I have also wanted to go to Monument Valley, reminds me of the Painted Hills over in Eastern Oregon.
ReplyDeleteYou're right...I remember being amazed at the beauty of the Oregon Painted Hills.
DeleteAmazingly beautiful Hindu temple! It'd make a great piece of yard art in the hardy tropical area of our imaginary multi-acre garden! I can feel the warmth in these pictues. Thanks, I needed that as our high today is going to be 67 and it's currently 53, overcast and windy.
ReplyDeleteI think there is some sort of blasphemy in there...
Delete(you're welcome...bringing blue skies to the sun starved, it's what I do)
No blasphemy intended, just admiration. Also think that the ruins of a gothic cathedral would fit nicely in one of the rooms of our imaginary garden; maybe the English area?
DeleteThis is gonna be a big garden!
Deletesometimes the "cleanup" posts are the best, as the topic jumps are so varied. Like my garden , which I guess is why I like the "jumble" posts. :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the desert photos. Being on roads in the middle of huge empty spaces like that is so overwhelming for those of us who don't get to do it too often.
Because Portland is in a "hilly" area and there are so many trees (along with the seemingly ever present grey in the sky) it is always an amazing experience when I end up under wide open blue skies like that. Seattle is very much like Portland (plus with a lot of tall buildings) and when I moved back to Spokane (Eastern Washington) it took me a month or so to get used to the big open blue sky again.
DeleteI love leftovers, especially when they are as tasty as yours!
ReplyDeleteAh shucks....
DeleteNice leftovers, those are all fun photos. California buildings are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteThere is a combo citrus tree called the 'salad' tree. They meant for small yards. That might be the one in the photo.
I wish I could grow a fruit salad tree here...that would be amazing!
DeleteThanks for the leftovers, they were yummy! I should do the same with some of my random photos that I have. I try to figure out how to pull together a whole blog post around them, but it seems thin, and they sometimes don't have that much to do with gardening. I want to go to California, but I'm having a hard time talking my husband into it.
ReplyDeleteYour pictures from the car of the desert, especially the marching saguaros, are amazing. And that yucca fiber looks like hair!
What is your husband into? Surely you can hone in on his hobby or interest and find some reason for him to want to go there...even if just to escape January in the PNW!
Delete(yes I thought the same about the Yucca fiber...I got a mental picture of a blond lady cutting off and selling her locks)
Wow...Monument Valley is amazing! I've also heard that first plant (with the yellow & orange blooms) called Pride of Barbados.
ReplyDeleteCommon names are fun eh? I remember the first time I heard that one referred to as Bird of Paradise I thought my brother was a little confused as this was obviously not what I knew as B of P.
DeleteI wouldn't mind leftovers if they were like these. Agave attenuata-ville. I wish that were somewhere I could easily drive to. Speaking of which I like the shot taken of the highway from the front of the car. What happens when you break down in the middle of nowhere? How soon are you rescued?
ReplyDeleteEven in the middle of nowhere we usually had cell reception, only a couple of times were we completely without. We also passed a fair number of other cars too, rarely did we have the road completely to ourselves. Still, I'm glad we didn't break down and I can't answer your question from personal experience!
DeleteI like leftovers, and I liked that temple. Not everything has to be about gardening, but it does frame ones view of the world.
ReplyDelete"Not everything has to be about gardening"...are you serious? :)
DeleteThe unfurling of a Cycas still remains a sight that makes me stop in my tracks.
ReplyDeleteMonument Valley looks pretty awesome. A place I would like to see in person before I pop my clogs perhaps?
Well that's a new one! "pop my clogs"...I've got to work that into a sentence today!
DeleteHa, ha!
DeleteLet us know if you are successful or not!
OMG--that trio of citrus tree is amazing--I got to have one in my nest!
ReplyDelete