Desert Botanical Garden - Phoenix

Today was another "normal" ho-hum day - sunshine and 90 degrees. Line dancing at 9:00, then do laundry and write a newsletter article. Swimming and sunning at 1:00, post office at 2:00, then shopping for pottery and a few groceries. So let's go back in time.

From Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix 1/22/09

Remember, click on a picture to see the entire album.

One day in Phoenix we visited the Desert Botanical Garden. "Chihuly: The Nature of Glass features new and unique works of glass of Dale Chihuly, artfully located throughout the garden.
Dale Chihuly is known for his inovative glass sculptures, and his work is imediately recognizable for its grand scale and vibrant colors. Chihuly's spectacular creations are found in more than 200 museums worldwide. This is Chihuly's first exhibition in a desert environment." (From the BDG brochure) Another link for more pictures is:
http://www.cactuslovers.com/phoenix-dbg.htm

From Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix 1/22/09

This was our first opportunity to explore the diverse vegetation in a desert environment. It was thrilling to see the stately saguaros and elephant cacti up close. And who knew that there were so many varieties of cacti? Actually, the garden contains cacti gathered from deserts around the world. We accompanied a docent on a 45 minute tour. The rest of the time we strolled around and looked in awe at all the plants. For an agronomist, it was extremely interesting. I'll bet that botanists think they are in heaven!

Then add in the exquisite glass artwork by Chihuly and you have a wondrously dazzling garden. Again I underestimated the time to tour the garden. We arrived about noon and left at 5:00. We should have arrived when they opened!

If you ever visit Phoenix, AZ this is a must-see!