I don’t know much about Texas and I will admit if I am not paying attention I find it easy to confuse Amarillo and Armadillo. Amarillo is a town with a proud history of quarter horses and cattle. The scent of cattle reminds you of their importance in the economy today. Yet the moment you step inside the fragrance garden of the Amarillo Botanical garden the scent of chocolate flower surrounds you and you realize you are in an incredible gem of a garden.
Author: Linda
A Survivor Tree
I wanted to see the survivor tree at the memorial plaza of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building, the site of the Oklahoma City bombing. This tree was buried under the rubble of the building debris that fell April 19, 1995. This American Elm tree showed signs of life when it was uncovered by the clean up workers months after the bombing. A sign of life so significant that it inspired so many then and continues yet today. It is in the center of a plaza space to representing regrowth and healing.
Botanical Garden, Albuquerque
Even on a 100 degree day this garden is a cool place to be. Only 15 years old this 36 acre botanical garden was built in the site of a city park which had fallen into disrepair. As a result mature cottonwood and elm trees provide shade all throughout the garden. The entry courtyard is spacious and decorative. You enter the garden through beautifully ornate bronze gates.
Fluttering By
Butterflies in my garden are an occasional delight. I grow some of their favorite foods, the desert milkweed and lantana, to encourage them to stop by. Still I wonder what I could to have more of these flying jewels in my garden all year long. As part of the Arizona Centennial Celebration Lola White is coordinating a Butterflies and Garden project with the goal of making Arizona the most butterfly friendly state in the nation. Her websitehttp://www.butterflyquest.net/ describes the project and provides a wealth of information about butterflies.
A Natural Palate
Jardin de Cactus, Lanzarote, Spain
Cactus, succulents and rock are familiar features in Southwest gardens. As a desert dweller, I assumed there were no more beautiful cactus gardens than exist here in the Sonoran desert. That idea was turned upside down on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
AZ Gardening
Back in my own little garden I have been working steadily to prepare for the intense heat of summer. One lucky bit of gardening is sharing geraniums with my friend Josephine. She and husband Steve have a wonderful mountain retreat north of Happy Jack, AZ. This is the second year that I have loaded up a truck full of my favorite peppermint twist geraniums and moved them up to her high altitude garden. Fortunately deer aren’t particularly fond of this plant and Josephine enjoys my geraniums for several months. The plants appreciate the cooler temperatures. In October I bring them back to the low desert for another growing season. This trip, after we delivered the plants we continued on to Winslow to spend a night at the La Posada resort and gardens.
Flagstaff Arboretum
Today it was to be 111 degrees in Phoenix. We hoped it would be cooler in Flagstaff. It was 90.
The arboretum was dry, the plants are struggling to thrive. Not yet recovered from winter some have a look of dry frosted leaves. Aspen trees have their fresh green leaves rattling in the breeze. Chimpmunks and song birds scamper about. If the rain comes the penstemon garden and the wildflowers will be beautiful in another month. Right now the lake is low, the paths are dusty and I sit on the bench and wonder what will we do if the rain doesn’t come?
Gardens in Sunny Paris
On Thursday the weather turned fine in Paris. After a cold and very rainy spring the change in sky and temperature made everyone feel hopeful about the future. Both the Parisians and their visitors were outside. The museums of Paris are filled with wonderful art yet this day people were in the gardens.
Monet’s living canvas
In early May in Monet’s Garden the dutch iris are blooming. The bearded iris are in full bud, given a week of warmer weather they will be opening. The scent of wisteria is mixed with the scent of lilacs in the air. There are beds of pink tulips and lavender lobelia just outside the door of the famous pink house with the green shutters.
Celebrating Flora
Celebrating Flora
In ancient times much of the world paused from their work to celebrate flowers. The Roman Goddess Flora was celebrated in the spring. A Maypole was erected,with ribbons streaming down, hands reached up and the dancing began. Young women wore crowns of flowers in their hair. The beauty of life, flowers and fertility was thoroughly celebrated with the hope of a great harvest in the Fall. The celebration lasted several days with games, performances, feasting and drinking.