Desert Landscaping - parental tree edition

The Texas ebony (Pithecellobium flexicaule) is a tree with low water needs.  But careful it does have spines.  And some cool seed pods.

Here's the Palo Verde in back.  Literally green stick in Spanish.  In the second pic you can see the green trunk and branches.  The third pic I included just because I liked it.  It's looking up into the canopy.  To me it looked like I was in some palo verde forest or something.  Evidently there are two species native to Arizona, the Blue Palo Verde and the Foothill Palo Verde, being blue-green and yellow-green respectively.  Anyone want to vote?

Again, what a difference some water makes.  The tree-like plant is a Mexican bird of paradise and based on this blog post by Bill at designinginthedesert, I think its Caesalpinia mexicana, but who knows.  It originally looked a lot like the sproutling in the second picture when I was about 17 or 18.  It was a little volunteer that I used to water when I went out in the backyard and that tree is what resulted.  It wasn't on any irrigation, but has obviously tapped into something.

Views of the desert - parental edition

So before I completely leave Arizona for a while, I wanted to share some pics from my parents' yard in Phoenix.  Though there are the obligatory cacti, there are also some really interesting trees (featured in my next post) that might surprise those from wetter climes.

First off, here are some pics of the barrel cactus in the front yard.  The first shot is from above, the second is of a dessicated flower? You can also see the nasty spines.  This is the cactus you can slice open and drink the pulp in the center if you're dying of thirst.  But it's much easier and less harmful to just bring water.

Here's a shot of the ocotillo, bare still from lack of water.  When the rains come this guy becomes covered in dark green leaves with bright red flowers on the top of each stalk.  I immediately liked this plant when we moved to Arizona.  You could see them from the freeway driving in from L.A. and for me epitomizes the desert much like saguaros.

Always plant in odd numbers my friend Anita always tells me.  Even numbers are too easily divided in half by the eye.  So unless it's a specimen plant, 3 is the minimum number.  These cacti are in the neighbor's yard.  And, of course, besides cacti, nothing says desert landscaping like rocks and gravel.

Dale Chihuly sculptures and other illuminations at the Desert Botanical Garden

At the entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden were three sculptures by Dale Chihuly.  He had a big temporary installation of his work in the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix from Nov '08 to May '09.  (If you follow the link, click on the tiny red triangle at the bottom to see more pics.)  My parents went and really enjoyed it.

The following are pics of "Desert Towers - 2008" at the entrance.  It's hard to see, but the light is coming from inside the sculptures.

A last pic, of all three, after I learned how to use the tripod.

Not related to the glass sculpture, but also near the entrance were cement benches inlaid with some stones that were lit from underneath/inside, creating a glowing stone bench.  I have to say I much prefer this type of night-time illumination in the garden to training a spotlight on certain plants, something I feel ruins the beauty of the desert at night, especially in the moonlight.

 But by far, my favorite form of illumination in the garden at night is stars, just stars.  Here's a pic of Orion rising over the desert.

Desert Botanical Garden - Luminarias

So I went to visit my parents in Phoenix for an early Christmas.  Anyone who has been to the Southwest around this time is probably familiar with luminarias.  Basically, they are candles in paper bags, but they are really beautiful in my humble opinion.

These are all pics from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.  It is open nights until December 30th for Las Noches de las Luminarias.  There is food, drinks, and live music throughout the gardens.  My favorite was jazz singer Chelé, who sang with this hill lit up behind her.

These pics are the result of my first time using a tripod and my first attempt at nighttime photos.  Not too bad if I don't say so myself.  More pics after the jump.