South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ

Cacti and Boulders, South Mountain Park, Phoenix, AZ 

One of the things that I love about living back out West is enjoying such close proximity to the beauty of nature. This morning, I decided to partake of some of that natural beauty by walking one of the trails in South Mountain Park, a municipal park that borders the south end of Phoenix. In this desert preserve, people hike, jog, ride their bikes, and walk their dogs in peace, as distance mutes the city's noise. Here are my photos from today. Enjoy.

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Downtown Phoenix, AZ, in the distance

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Spectacular Sunrise

I never get tired of the spectacular sunrises and sunsets here in the Valley. I took this photo this morning in the South Mountain area of Phoenix. Simply beautiful.

A Day of Sun and Rain

This was a day of rain intermingled with periods of blue sky. Above, the magenta of a sunrise increasingly obstructed by gathering storm clouds. There were a few episodes of light rain today, which ultimately ended with clearing and blue skies, even the faint traces of a rainbow, as seen below, on the right. I have yet to catch a rainbow for a photograph when it is vivid and bright. This rainbow, when I found it, started to strengthen its vibrancy, but then quickly faded away. Next time, as they always say, next time.

Back to the Rhythm of Rain

Desert Rain, Phoenix, AZ

The break earlier that brought us the rainbow ended with a return to rain. I couldn't resist going out and about to enjoy the weather. Under shelter, I took this photo of rain coming in from South Mountain. Simply beautiful, this rain and mist reminds me of my trips to the Pacific Northwest, most recently my trip to Portland to meet a longtime friend, who took a train in from Seattle while I flew in from Chicago. I remember one evening when the two of us walked out of Portland's legendary Powell's Bookstore, only to encounter another onslaught of rain after a brief pause. I love the rain, its gray gloom, its chill, when you can get it in Phoenix, and the soft, steady rhythm of its fall upon concrete and asphalt. Living in the desert, I enjoy getting this visual break from days of seemingly endless sun, soothing dark days that provide their own sense of pause for reading, reflection, and relaxation.

Green Glory: Close-ups of the Palo Verde Tree

Here are more close-up photos I managed to take of the palo verde tree. I really love these because they manage to showcase the tree's green bark rather vividly. I kind of like the gnarled brown patches disrupting the tree's smooth green skin. It provides for a rich variety of textures.

I confess that I took this photo to capture the image of the broken branch at the right. I like seeing imperfections break up the monotony of seeming perfection. That's life, after all.

South Mountain Stroll

One of the things that has amazed me about living in Phoenix (speaking, of course, as a Midwesterner) is the variety of plants that can be grown outside in gardens as perennials that you cannot grow "out east." I think I have mentioned before that I love how you can grow rosemary as a garden perennial in Phoenix, and that I love the scent of rosemary after a good rain. Above is a close-up photo of the aromatic rosemary bush. I love its tiny powder-blue flowers.

Yesterday was a lazy day for me. The weather was a weird divide, between one side of the sky displaying a surreal shade of blue and clouds and the other side heavy with a dirty gray gloom. I am a great lover of rain and thunderstorms, especially in the desert, as I find them to be beautifully dramatic. However, on days when gray overcast looms overhead in a lingering aerial squat, I tend to get lethargic. Being a little impatient, I just want the weather to do something. And so, yesterday, wanting to contribute to my blog but feeling unambitious, I decided to take a stroll around the South Mountain community to showcase types of flowers that we grow in Phoenix throughout the year that I have never seen grown as perennials back in Chicago. Here are the fruits of that endeavor.

The first time I encountered ruella was when I first moved to Phoenix. To be sure, when I moved back to Chicago, I did see ruella on sale at Gethsemane Gardens, a plant nursery in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, but it was in the annual section. Here in Phoenix, ruella plants grow and bloom in gardens throughout the year. I really love these purple-flowering plants, especially because so many of the flowering plants in the Valley bloom some shade of either pink or yellow. There is very little blue or purple represented on the garden palette here, and so ruella offsets that limited palette and provides a little variety.

There are many types of agave grown in the Valley. This one is growing its flowering stalk. I am always amazed by how tall these flowering stalks can grow and wonder how such a small plant can manage such a high-rising vertical feat.

Anyone following this blog knows that I love the red bird. Here, the yellow at the edges of the flowers are seeping into the red centers, blending to create the bright, fiery orange that I really love. There is even a touch of autumn here, as the red bird's leaves tend towards a burnt red color in the fall, as seen above.

Yes, the Valley enjoys its share of citrus groves, including both orange trees and grapefruit trees. Their white blossoms, which come with the spring, release a beautiful light and sweet scent.

Yes, bougainvillea grow throughout the Valley. In fact, talking about the overrepresentation of pink in Valley gardens, bougainvillea is one of the culprits in this color monopoly. To be sure, bougainvillea come in other flowering shades--I have seen specimens blooming in shades of peach, salmon, and white, for example--but this hot pink variety is by far the most popular.

Oleander. Yes, we have oleander, too. They grow to become ENORMOUS. (Of course, you wouldn't have gotten a sense of their large scale growth if I hadn't typed the word "enormous" with all-caps!) This specimen blooms in baby-pink, as you can see, but I think I prefer the deep red and the white blooming varieties.

I have heard these plants referred to as red poker plants, but I am not sure if this is correct, especially since there is a yellow-blooming variety of this plant. At any rate, hummingbirds love to feed from their flowers. In fact, when I first spotted this specimen yesterday, turning on my camera to take a photo, I saw a beautiful red-throated hummingbird feeding from one of its blooms. I tiptoed quietly to the plant, hoping to get a close-up of the feasting fowl, but, alas!, it was too quick for me and flew away. Next time.

The variegated agaves, like the one above, are my personal favorites. Their variation in leaf color adds a lot of drama to a garden. This is actually a surprise to me, as in the case of houseplants, such as the jade plant, I am usually not drawn to the variegated variety. There is a similar variegated type of agave that I have seen and really love, its only difference from this one is its huge, floppy-ear style of leafery. Very beautiful.

Seeking Signs of Autumn in Phoenix

I might have mentioned this before, but I love autumn, and one of my difficulties with now living in Phoenix, AZ, is the Valley's near complete lack of autumn. True, the heat that presses down upon the Valley in summer lessens considerably, loses its intensity, and in the autumn and winter months we do enjoy cool weather and sometimes beautiful rainy days. However, this is not the autumn I am familiar with, being a born-and-bred Midwesterner. Four fully and uniquely defined seasons are a beautiful thing; they help to provide the punctuation of change that is needed to observe a sense of moving forward and appreciate that which is passing. One aspect I really miss right now is the change in leaf color that occurs in autumn, with green giving way to leaf shades of red, orange, and gold. As we always say in the Valley, you have to drive north to Flagstaff or Sedona, or to Prescott, to get a taste of autumn in Arizona. But this week, driving through the South Mountain community, I was pleasantly surprised to see a band of street-front trees partially changing leaf color to a shade of burnt red. This afternoon, determined to enjoy a local version of autumn without having to drive two or so hours north, I journeyed to the site where these trees are planted and here are two photos from my encounter with ever-elusive autumn in the Valley. Part of the red I was seeing were bunches of berries the trees bear, but other parts are actual changes in leaf color, as you can see above. I confess I have no idea as to the type of tree these are, but they gave me the wonderful gift of enjoying autumn "right in my own backyard." Many thanks.  

Autumn in South Mountain

Autumn at Farmers Market, Phoenix, AZ

Yep, under desert sun, and in the midst of palm trees and cactus, we still indulge in autumnal celebration here in the South Mountain community of Phoenix, AZ. This is a local fruit barn and bakery on Baseline Road that sells a variety of fresh produce, dried fruit, nuts, and baked goods. Autumn is a season that conjures up images of harvest, and the display at this farmers market illustrates this theme perfectly. Chile ristras hang in rows, wheat stalks are bunched together at the posts, and pumpkins are stacked on top of each other in a mound. Looking at this sight, you can't help but entertain notions of the bountiful beautiful, and you can't get much more autumnal than that! Well, trees with leaves that change color in the fall would be a beautiful thing, too. I guess a future trip to Prescott or Flagstaff is in order. Anyway, enjoy the beauty of autumn!

Vantage Point

Camelback Mountain in the Distance, South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

The summit of South Mountain in Phoenix offers an amazing view of the city and the surrounding countryside. The summit overlook is located at about 2300 feet. Here are some photos I took from my trip to the summit earlier today. They give you a good idea of the great expanse of desert that I now, once again, call my home. Enjoy the photos!

Camelback Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Downtown Phoenix, as seen from South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

The Valley from South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ 

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ 

Road leading up to the summit, South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix, AZ

A Garden of Red Birds

Red Birds in South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

I have been wanting to get a good photograph of the red bird of paradise from a distance, just because I love these flowering bushes so much. They go beautifully with red bougainvillea, which also grow in many gardens throughout the Valley. I am heading to downtown Phoenix today, specifically the Phoenix Art Museum, and I am taking my camera. Let's see what photo-worthy things I find today, now that the weather has cleared up so beautifully. Enjoy the day!

Images from a Morning Walk

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Taking a morning walk around my community of South Mountain, I captured these images on film. There is nothing dramatic or spectacular about these images; this is really just a study in the beauty of the everyday. From my understanding, before undergoing intensive development, the South Mountain community was more rural, serving as the location for many farms, ranches, and orange groves. Happily, some of these still stand today.

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Unfortunately, this morning, only one horse was out and about on the grounds. The other horses, and the cows, were still in the barn. One early riser enjoys the grasses. I guess the proverb about the early bird also applies to the early horse.

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

South Mountain used to feature many orange groves, from what longer-term residents have informed me. There is nothing more delicious than the light fragrance of orange blossoms in the spring.

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

Just a street-view with a few palm trees.

South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

The beauty of a blue sky littered with white clouds!

Desert Splendor

Univision grounds, Phoenix, AZ

These are just a few photos I took this morning. I mentioned before the merits of xeriscaping, and the office grounds of Univision, the Spanish language TV channel, in the South Mountain community of Phoenix is an excellent example of this. I have long been a fan of their approach to landscaping corporate grounds in the Valley. While some plants, like the red bird of paradise, are not necessarily native to the area, all of their plants are tolerant of the severe drought and heat of the area. These photos represent just a fraction of the beauty you'll find on the grounds of their office headquarters.

Prickly pear, Univision grounds, Phoenix, AZ 

Water feature and saguaro, Univision grounds, Phoenix, AZ

Into desert splendor, Univision grounds, Phoenix, AZ

Wild Beauty

South Mountain community, Phoenix, AZ

I took this photo this morning of a local garden that I have always loved. While so many Phoenicians prefer manicured lawns with shrubbery and small trees butchered into balls and cubes, which I find to be distasteful, the owner of this yard believes in the beauty of letting things be. I love the shagginess of those untrimmed palm trees. There is a certain lushness here, a sense of an oasis thriving right in the middle of the desert. To be sure, I would probably not choose to grow a garden as densely packed with plants as this in Phoenix, fearing to give an attractive hiding place to rattlesnakes and scorpions. Instead, I would prefer a xeriscaping approach to landscaping, using native desert plants that have a high tolerance of drought and heat, but I would leave my shrubbery and trees alone to grow naturally, without manicure. At any rate, I really love this natural, untamed beauty. Things are often most beautiful when they simply are what they are, without apology, and without forcing them into unnatural shapes that are nothing more than illusion.