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Sunday, May 31, 2009

A Walk through my Neighborhood


I am not a huge fan of the desert. Yes, I know I live here, but as I’ve said before... I prefer trees, flowers. streams. You get the picture. But every year the desert gives us a gift, that comes from a very unlikely place... A Cactus! The beauty of this flower inspired me to take a walk around my neighborhood, and in my backyard, and show you some of the lovely flowers we DO have here in the Southwest. The picture above was taken in a neighbors front yard. I believe it is on some sort of barrel cactus.


This is what the flower looks like when it’s not open.


This is the flower of a Prickly Pear Cactus. (A particularly nasty cactus in my opinion, but with perfectly lovely flowers.)


Unfortunately I waited to long into the season to try and photograph the rest of the cactus that bloom here in the valley, so here are some other lovely flowers, many many are from my own backyard. The plant below is a Mexican Bird of Paradise. It’s colors are so vibrant! In fact most of the flowering plants have very bright colors, which is a good thing because the sun is so intense here it washes out color if it’s not very bright.






Lantana is a bush that I see everywhere in the valley. It’s a super performer and although it does okay in drought like situations, it thrives with just a little bit more water. I especially like the one below. It’s in my flower bed and has so many color variations all in one plant.




This yellow one is on the other side of the bed. It flowers non stop from February until the first hard freeze. (Yes we do get those a few times every year.)


Blue Cape Plumbago is another lovely plant. Unfortunately, it will soon be too hot for it and it will start to die back. Fortunately it will come back to visit next spring!!!




This is some form of Tecoma Sans Yellow Bells. (It must be the orange variety) It is a bush and grows quite large if it’s not pruned.


And last, (but not least) one of my all time favorite summer survivors... Vinca Periwinkle! This little trouper provides blooms all summer long, tolerates the intense heat and bounces back if I forget to water one day. What more could you ask????




Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed my little walk about this morning!!!






7 comments:

Linda K. said...

HiKaren,

When we moved here back in July of 2008, I had no idea how really beautiful the desert can be, (in bloom);-) With all it's brown, grey, dried brush, dried bush going on, let alone the dull neutral color, there really is beauty here. A person has to look a little beyond the rocks, sand, and cacti. Thanks for all the beauty in bloom!
Blessings,
Linda

Anonymous said...

I just love your blog- so glad to have found it! Beautiful photos!
xo natalea

Dawn said...

HOW GORGEOUS!!! I can't believe how bright that red/orange bush is!! Those pics were way fun to look at!!

Barbara Jean said...

Love all the flower pics. Can't wait to see what else you have on here./

The daisy row you use to separate your posts is really cute. How do you do it??
Blessings,
Barbara Jean

Charmaine said...

Hi there, found you through The Graphics Fairy. I'm a native Arizonan (6 generations native!), but living in Iowa (with grass, flowers, trees, and streams & rivers!) so I can feel your desire to live in a place like I do. But I have to say for a couple of weeks every year, the desert blooms and it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Have you ever seen the wild flowers in bloom at Picacho Peak? Gorgeous!

Rella said...

You are so right about the flowers NEEDING to be brilliant in color here since the sun would wash them out...the real beauty of an overcast day is that we can take in the gorgeous flowers without our eyes feeling like they are going to fry out of our heads. Yes, that is how I feel......it's HARSH here.

xox Rella

Candi said...

wow what a beautiful post! I loved looking at your flowers, they're absolutely gorgeous!

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