Wildflowers, breathtaking views at Horseshoe Bend and Glen Canyon Dam
June 16, 2023 Hatted and sunscreened against the intense desert sun, we took a morning walk out to see Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona, before our tour of Antelope Canyon. This was back in late April, during our 5-week RV trip to see western National Parks. Wild rhubarb (I think?) ...
Beams of light set Antelope Canyon aglow
June 13, 2023 You’ve seen it in photos: swirling red sandstone walls aglow with light, like the inside of a conch shell or a Himalayan salt crystal lamp. Shafts of light that pinpoint, like Indiana Jones’s amulet beam, precise spots on the sandy floor. This is Antelope Canyon, as graceful ...
Finger-pointing cacti at Saguaro National Park
August 07, 2020 If you’re feeling ticked off about the covid state of the world, Saguaro National Park might be the perfect place to go, since its namesake flora look like they’re giving the finger to the universe. Saguaro was the last park we visited during our family road trip ...
Grand views at Grand Canyon
July 07, 2020 We steered clear of crowded lookout points like this one at Grand Canyon. In the before-times, a summer road trip was a pleasurable, even adventurous, undertaking. In the covid era it feels almost miraculous to pull off any kind of travel while adhering to federal and local ...
Palo verde paradise at Arizona State University Polytechnic campus
February 13, 2015 For all you snowbound readers up north or eager-beaver gardeners down south, you’ll find lots of floral sunshine in this post, which I’ve been holding onto since last spring. During my Phoenix visit last April, my friend Noelle, aka AZ Plant Lady, took me to some water-saving ...
Inspired landscape architecture at Cavalliere Park in Scottsdale
May 29, 2014 While touring low-water gardens in Phoenix and nearby Scottsdale, Arizona, in early April with my friend Noelle Johnson, aka AZ Plant Lady, we stopped at Cavalliere Park. Constructed in 2012, the park is a model of sustainability and is a 3-star SITES-certified project. Aside from all that, ...
Xeriscape is not a zeroscape: Scottsdale Xeriscape Garden demonstrates the beauty of saving water
May 09, 2014 It’s a common mispronunciation, but it’s also a bit of a Freudian slip: saying “zeroscape” instead of “xeriscape.” To xeriscape is to design a garden that conserves water through the use of drought-tolerant plants grouped according to water needs, water-collection systems, mulch, non-wasteful irrigation, and other rather ...
Colorful desert garden of Noelle Johnson, Arizona Plant Lady
May 07, 2014 Last month I visited Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, to see how they’re gardening in a much drier climate than Austin’s. (Drought is much on our mind in Texas). I toured Desert Botanical Garden, which was amazing, saw a couple of Steve Martino’s beautifully designed gardens, and admired ...
Visit to Desert Botanical Garden and Chihuly Exhibit: Desert twilight and Chihuly after dark
May 01, 2014 Have you ever visited a garden twice in one day? After a late morning/mid-afternoon stroll through Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden on April 4th, I returned just before sunset to enjoy the “magic hour” of light and see the Chihuly glass sculptures dramatically lit. The low, warm light ...
Visit to Desert Botanical Garden and Chihuly Exhibit: Edible Garden, palo verde splendor, and Chihuly balloons
April 30, 2014 During my April 4th visit to Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, I flitted from trail to loop to gallery with no concern for the map or where the Chihuly pieces were located or any knowledge of the garden beyond what I’d gleaned from the blog posts ...
Visit to Desert Botanical Garden and Chihuly Exhibit: Archer House garden and Desert Living Trail
April 29, 2014 If you’re a birdwatcher, you really must visit Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. I arrived around 10 am on April 4th and saw more birds than I could identify, photograph, or count. Imagine an early morning visit, when all the birds are waking up! This dove ...
Visit to Desert Botanical Garden and Chihuly Exhibit: Cactus and Succulent Galleries
April 28, 2014 The Chihuly exhibit at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, is a huge draw for visitors, and it was for me too. When I visited on April 4th, I was keen to see the colorful glass sculptures in a desert setting after seeing them at Dallas Arboretum ...
Visit to Desert Botanical Garden and Chihuly Exhibit: Entry Garden and Desert Wildflower Loop
April 26, 2014 As soon as I got off the plane and into my rental car on my April 3rd visit to Phoenix, Arizona, I drove straight to Desert Botanical Garden, which is consistently rated one of the best botanical gardens in the U.S. I knew a spring visit would ...
Living colorfully in Civano, Tucson’s green-home community
April 22, 2014 I made a quick visit to Tucson while in Arizona earlier this month, and one of my stops included the green, master-planned community of Civano on the southeast side of town. One of my favorite garden authors, Scott Calhoun, wrote about building his home and garden there ...
Desert retreat in Steve Martino-designed Quartz Mountain Garden
April 21, 2014 The second garden I visited with Phoenix landscape architect Steve Martino was familiar to me from a magazine or garden book I’d read. Peer recognition, including an ASLA design award in 2006, has also been bestowed on Steve’s design for this Paradise Valley, Arizona, home. It’s a ...
Color-drenched walls and desert beauty in Steve Martino-designed Palo Christi Garden
April 19, 2014 Forget Easter egg pinks and lilacs. Yellow, I discovered two weeks ago, is the color of spring in Arizona. A sunny, egg-yolk yellow. My friend David Cristiani introduced me to Phoenix landscape architect Steve Martino, who pioneered the use of desert natives in area gardens decades ago ...
