a desert haven

We have been blessed with beautiful gardens in Portland. On both the West and East sides of the city, public gardens are plentiful and well loved by the locals. These gardens feature regional plants such as roses and rhododendrons to name a few. When given the opportunity to visit the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, we were thrilled and intrigued by what we might see.

The children became desert detectives as they scoured the garden for various plants and wildlife. What was so beautiful to see was how enthusiastic they both were about the stunning landscape and the names of the different cacti. This particular plant is an octopus cactus.

Samantha fell in love with this dainty flower called the Red Fairy Duster. As we gazed at the branches full of fiery red flowers, she swore she saw a fairy flutter by. With her tiny fairy muscles she pulled a duster loose and went quickly on her way.

Jasper, being the tactile child that he is, needed to touch everything that was near the trail (including a cactus with tiny splinter like spines....ouch!). This is the bright red fruit of a Queen of the Night Cactus.

Although Jasper enjoyed the plants immensely, this little quail was the highlight for him. He talked so sweetly to it and even shared his lunch. We also saw the quail's friends the hummingbird, the round-tailed ground squirrel and a cactus wren. What a fun experience this was for all of us. We walked away with a deeper appreciation of the natural world and many new stories to tell.