A Trek Through The Living Desert
This past Monday my sister (Daisy Mom) took me and my family to a very special place at the base of the desert mountains. Beautiful gardens, plant collections from around the world and wild animals were on display for all to see at “The Living Desert”.
Palm Springs California, Teddy Bear Cholla, Ocotillo and the yellow flowers of Brittlebush grace the desert.
The Palm Springs area is located in the midst of the California desert. One of the first things that you notice about this area is that it is surrounded by tall, snow covered mountains. It is a wonderful example of how mountains block much of the rain from entering the desert.
My nephews, niece and children were all ready for a fun day.
We were still in the parking lot when I knew that I was in trouble….I felt pulled in so many different directions by the beautiful and unusual plants that I saw.
Saliva coccinea
In general, flowering plants are what I am drawn to and there were so many to look at. Countless flowering plants were enjoying the warmer then normal temperatures of the upper 70’s.
The tiny purple flowers of Trailing Indigo Bush (Dalea greggii), contrast nicely with the gray-green foliage of this groundcover.
Beautiful trees were also in flower…
Australian native, Weeping Wattle (Acacia saligna) is covered with golden puffball flowers.
Flowering Parry’s Penstemon (Penstemon parryi)
Yellow Columbine benefits from the water from this stone fountain.
My son, two daughters and niece stop by the pond to see the tadpoles.
One of my favorite flowering plants that grows well in light shade, Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera).
Salvia (I haven’t looked this one up yet)
Another Penstemon Did I mention already that I love Penstemons?
This low-growing shrub is absolutely covered in tiny purple flowers.
Are you tired yet?
Today’s portion of our tour is almost over…
I love these African Daisies with their orange petals and purple center.
I have a preference for plants that produce plumes of flowers, such as this Coral Fountain (Russelia equisetiformis).
I mentioned yesterday that I took over 500 pictures of our visit and I did promise not to make you sit through all of them. But I do have a few more to show you. So our next visit together will focus on some of the unusual plants that we saw.
There were many smaller paths that led off from the main path and there were always surprises around the bend – usually spectacular vistas along with some unusual plants. More about that next time….
My daughter, heading down a path – not sure what she will find at the end.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to view some of the beauty of this special place.
I have left one of my favorite pictures for you to view in preparation for tomorrow’s post of unusual plants.
Now, I am off to the dentist….
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
ah another lovely post from a climate i love growing in. I am sure you must have had lots of fun excitingly capturing these plants.perhaps penstemon were the best in this post so was trailing indigo bush flowers.
wow, wow, wow, i loved that tour…boy was that hot or what…time for a lemonade break!
noelle, i really enjoyed that tour and all those beautiful plants, i love penstemons also but that rusellia is a real stunner!
You know, I think I could happily sit through 500 of your photos Noelle 🙂 I just love columbines and that one next to the water fountain just looks so happy.
Dear Noelle, I am simply amazed, as always when looking at and reading your postings, at the wonderful scenery all around you and the wide variety of beautiful plants growing in desert conditions.
I particularly loved the Salvias you featured.
I do hope that the visit to the dentist passed without incident.
I just loved this post! Now I want to take a trip there just to see this place, not to mention it looks so warm. I love Penstemons too!
You have such a beautiful group of kids between the two of you. I bet they had a lot of fun too.
I'll have to remember about this place next time we are in the area in Spring. I'm not going to tire of these beautiful shots, bring 'em on!
Love the Penstemon!! And such beautiful pictures of all the kids 😀
Hope it wasn't a nasty trip to the dentist…O_O
I especially love the firecracker plant or coral plant! I have some chollas I started from seed, but I don't know if they're teddy bear or not… I like how they catch the light!
Two items: one, the penstemons you are able to grow just turn me green with envy, and two, what a dreadful way to finish off a post…the dentist! My teeth hurt just thinking of it. OK, three items: the gumdrop shaped cacti in the last pic were really cute. Can a plant be cute?
Christine in Alaska
What a wonderful post. Every photo was beautiful, and it's hard to think anything is more beautiful than the photo of your family! Happy smiles! 🙂
Enjoy the dentist. Great picks. The buff ball flower is very cool. Is the bubler the same one you caught the hummingbird at? jim
Noelle: Love the tour! All the plants are just beautiful. I especially loved that yellow columbine 🙂 Your last picture is real making me looking forward to the next post. Oh, BTW, noticed one of kids (not sure if she is your daughter or niece) holding the flat stanley. She must be doing the flat Stanley project. My sons went through the same, and we even took the Stanley to China 🙂
Wow…I love the weeping wattle..super cool! Fun and beautiful post! yay!
Kiki~
So many beautiful flowers!
The flowers are all beautiful and help me appreciate the special part of the world you live in. But my favorite photo was of the children at the pond! you have a lovely family.
Wonderful post! You have a beautiful family, and the path is so very enchanting.
Hello!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the pictures. Jim noticed the water feature by the columbine and wondered if it was the same place we saw the bathing hummingbird and it was. Ami, you have a good eye to have noticed the "Flat Stanley". He is now off to Washington DC.
The dentist went fine today….I only had my teeth cleaned and they found no problems, thank goodness :^)
Some wonderful photos here, the children look like they were ready to do some exploring. Looking forward to learning more about the desert and it's plants.
Great place … I loved just about every flowering beauty in your post. Of course I adore wattles… but that dark blue salvia was stunning as well. This is a place worthy of many, many visits.
flower plants really beautiful, maybe because the mountains of soil nutrients is still very good. as well as plant varieties that are still very much.
You are very lucky, my friend
I'm torn as to which is my favorite! Your opening photo is definitely a winner…the colors are so vivid! I also enjoyed the penstemon. Your coral fountain looks like my firecracker plant. Love this one! I also am partial to the shrub with the silvery fluff and purple flowers. Nice combo! I can't blame you for over 500 pics…it seems you restrained yourself considering the beauty of this place!
Wow, really nice. The African Daisies look so perfect. Hope the trip to the dentist was ok.
I really enjoyed this tour. Those first and last shots are so gorgeous! It looks like there's so much to see. I can see why you spent 5 hours.