Outdoor Exploration

Today I decided to go exploring with my camera. The plants are almost all in full bloom and the weather is a "chilly" 91 degrees with blue skies and not a cloud in sight.

What more can you ask for? How gorgeous is that!? When I was in college I worked in a plant nursery. (I have to say plant nursery because some think children when I say nursery.) We had so many beautiful plants and flowers come through the doors and I learned a lot. Unfortunately, you can't grow the amount of stunning flowers here as you can in Oregon. Our yard is severely lacking at the moment, so I went out to enjoy the ones our neighborhood has on display.

There were busy bees buzzing in and out of this beauty, but I couldn't get the picture focused and snapped in time before the little guys flew away, so I settled for the best picture of this flower that I could get. I love the varying shades of purple with the sage green behind it. It pops! Another purple I came upon was:

Lantana. Lantana is one of my favorites. For some reason in Oregon I did not like it. I think it got spindly and not very full there, but here it is pretty much used in every yard and display and it acts similar to a ground cover in some cases. It comes in shades of purple, red, orange and yellow. I love the red best.

I love the different kind of desert plants that grow here like weeds. One of those is a type of agave, which we call "Shin Daggers" because they are really poky and they stab your shins if you are not careful. I captured a few of those that I really liked.

I like this one because it surprised me with a gift I wasn't expecting of the spider web. Spiders love, love, love shin daggers. Black widows are a main resident of ours. I am often too afraid to walk down the walkway to and from our front door because it is like a black widow expressway. No thank you!

I loved the curve of this blade. This shin dagger was so small when we first had it put in, but now, three years later, it is ginormous! It is starting to take over our walkway and we have had to severely cut it back. Sadly, I may have to think about taking them out because they are just too big. I may put in this gorgeous desert version of a bird of paradise. I will post the best picture of that I have later.

This picture was fun because it is through the hole in a yard ornament that my dad made. The yard ornament is a butterfly that has been roughly cut out of a piece of sheet metal. Through the hole gives a unique perspective of the ordinary.

I was having a hard time with all the wind today getting a decent picture of the true beauty of this plant. This is the type of bird of paradise I was telling you about earlier. The reds, oranges and yellows are stunning and pair that with a gorgeous blue sky and you have a stunning display!

This particular plant was giving me the hardest time. I wanted a clear picture of just the open flowers, but the wind was blowing so much that it would not stay still for anything and snapping a good close up was impossible. They are everywhere and are very lovely!

And, finally, my favorite of the day.

I love this particular cactus. It is growing wild all over the desert and for some reason I find it so odd because it looks like someone just took a handful of blackberry stalks and placed them in the ground. During its blooming season all of the sticks are covered in a beautiful chartreuse green foliage. It is wonderful!

These are just a few of the gorgeous flowers around me. This does not count the trees or anything else. I will have to wait until another day to share those, but for now, enjoy the beauty that the AZ desert has to offer in my small neighborhood.