Spring Glory in Arizona

I wander the world looking for glorious gardens.  I’m always noticing the trees and the flowers where ever I go.  Today I was going to Home Depot, and I found a glorious southwest spring display. The Hacienda Children’s Hospital at 610 W Jerome Ave, in Mesa, AZ opened in October of 2015.  My usual side street approach to Home Depot allowed me to watch the construction of the building from its earliest beginnings.  It is a beautiful structure w/ an integrated steel tree rising up the side of the building and framing the entryway canopy.  It has been attention grabbing from the start.  The facility was designed by the Devenney Group, who specializes in medical architecture.  I’ve contacted them to find out who the landscape architect is for this project because right now, this moment the landscape has blossomed into its full glory.  The plants are just a bit over three years in the ground and the time combined with the wet winter has created a moment of true desert glory.

If you are anywhere near Baseline Road, between Alma School and Country Club, do yourself a favor and wander through this display of mass plantings of orange aloe vera blooms that complement the orange window frames. The paloverde trees offer their open canopy and their great architectural branching shape to frame the garden.  A mass planting of variegated green and yellow agaves are in simultaneous bloom with the stalks rising 8’ and just nearing their flowering.

The block structure of the building is softened by the Mexican fence post cactus planted near the perimeter. Other varieties of agaves, Angelita daisy, slipper plant are used within the landscape.  These familiar, almost common, easy to grow and hardy plants have been arranged to create a slam on the brakes scene for any garden lover.  I did, and I will be going back to watch more of the flowers open over the next several weeks.  I hope to see you there.

Hacienda Children’s Hospital, 610 W. Jerome Ave, Mesa, AZ

7 thoughts on “Spring Glory in Arizona”

  1. So enjoyed these beautiful garden scenes! They brought back wonderful memories of the winters we spent in Sun Lakes several years ago. Being from Bloomington, IN, it was a treat to become familiar with AZ plants. I even got to meet you at a garden club meeting I attended there and appreciated your passion for plants before getting to view your great newsletters. I have been fortunate to get to experience other winters in San Diego and now in Estero, FL and enjoy so many kinds of plant life. Thank you for sharing!

    1. Thank you! I’m off to Sun Lakes garden club this morning to present my program The Best View of our World,” so sorry you can’t be there. I hope to visit more gardens in Florida, always new plants to discover!

      1. I so enjoyed your presentation at the Sun Lakes Garden Club yesterday. Your comments about noticing the unplanted flower bed near the Eiffel Tower echoed my feelings, and the picture of the French lady getting soil from the bed made me smile. I admire all that you are doing to promote the love of gardening.

  2. Well, it was a terrific program at the Sun Lakes Garden Club. I enjoyed hearing you speak on gardens and seeing the beautiful photos of your trips. I wondered about those Agaves at Hacienda Children’s Hospital. They are monocarpic and the plants are certainly dying now. I plan to go and see if they have replaced them.

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