I’ve decided to do something I’ve never done before: take a week off! Crazy right? I know. However I can’t accept complete radio silence here on the blog, so instead each day this week I’m going to tempt you to visit a past post, one from my garden travels over the years. Today we start with a 2011 visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. I took so many photos it’s a two part post: Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here.
Visits to this garden rank very high on my magical moments lists, it's a very special place.
With lots of amazing plants, like this Agave x ‘Dianita’ - honestly I can't believe it's been 3 years since I've been there. I must return soon!
Oh and I'm not really away on vacation (although I was last week, more on that soon) so if you have any comments or questions please, as always, feel free to talk to me!
This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
That's a lot bigger than a dome. Look at all those opuntias! It looks like there's even one growing out of the saguaro!
ReplyDeleteIndeed there is! My fav crazy opuntia memory is seeing one growing out of the side of a palm tree in Tucson.
DeleteFunny enough I had a déjà vu moment when I saw your first pic but reading through I was soon enlightened. Enjoy your week off :)
ReplyDeleteGood memory! Sometimes I find myself doing the same thing on other blogs, often it's that they've posted about something (a garden, a nursery, a plant) that another blogger I follow has written about.
DeleteWow! I'm tempted to book a flight just to see this place in person.
ReplyDeleteOh rickii you really should plan a trip sometime, it's AMAZING!
DeleteI like this vacation mode, complete with sunny, spiky, images. Maybe I'll pull out a vacation to post, too. You might have started yet another garden bloggers meme!
ReplyDeleteSunny and spiky, just exactly how I like my vacations.
DeleteYea! A week off. Hope you enjoy it as much as I know we'll enjoy revisiting some gardens on your blog! Must see this garden in person some day. (Huntington first.)
ReplyDeleteYou've got me mentally comparing the two (DBG and the Huntington). I saw the DBG years before I'd even ever heard of the Huntington, hard to pick a favorite and glad that I don't have to.
DeleteYour original posts in 2011 were run before I started following your blog so this was an especially nice step back in time for me. I think the Arizona garden stands up very well next to the Huntington's Desert Garden (although, I admit, it's been 2-3 years now since I've visited the Huntington). I was startled by the silvery trees in the opening photo, which looked like Hawaii's silverswords on steroids, until I looked at the original post and confirmed that they were constructed of glass - still, they made a beautiful accompaniment to the plants.
ReplyDeleteI am no fan of Chihuly (surprisingly I haven't been kicked out of the PNW for saying that) but those glass "trees" are a favorite of mine, I'm glad to see they're still there in Gerhard's post on the garden yesterday.
DeleteI was at the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday when I saw your post. Talk about coincidence! I agree with everything you said. A magical place of the highest order. This is my fourth visit, and I still can't get enough. Plus, things change all the time.
ReplyDeleteThis visit was my third, so I guess that's just one more indication that I'm overdue for a fourth!
DeleteThat 2nd pic of all the layers of various cacti is amazing. I should go out there and see it in "winter"...would be a nice effect before spring is in full force, sometime in February! Only 6-7 hours for me with free lodging at my brother's, but this day job and trying to be paid always gets in the way...
ReplyDeleteMy second visit was about this time of year, 9 years ago. It's a beautiful place in the winter, hope you can get away!
DeleteI need to go there, have never been to the DBG. I like Tucson more than Phoenix, more character...
ReplyDeleteThat surprises me, yes...you do need to go there! As for Tucscon vs. Phoenix I was telling someone over the holiday that if (when?) we move to Arizona someday we'd live in Tucson, the politics are much more to our way of thinking. I was later reminded that I was talking to a group of conservatives. Ha!
DeleteI wondered what the lime green plants in the first shot were....
ReplyDeleteglass sculptures! Amazing.
Yep, they're pretty darn cool.
DeleteHoly cow... The US is loosely pencilled in as our 2016 holiday, and this has gotta be on the list. Also, did I spot the A. macroacantha that's your header photo in part one of the visit, or was my 'aha!' moment over nothing?
ReplyDeleteGood eye! Yes, you're right - this visit is where that image was taken. I do hope you are able to visit, it's an amazing place. Let me know if you have any questions I can help with when the time comes to start planning your vacation!
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