in-the-right-lane: Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botannical Garden in Phoenix participates in the reciprocal program with the gardens we are a member of in Hot Springs so how can one not take advantage of a free visit. It was the perfect sunny 68 degree day to stroll among the cacti and wildflowers on this 145 acre garden begun in 1939.

At the entrance the Dale Chihuly glass display was worth the entire trip for me.

The wildflowers were putting on a magnificent show, but it is still early for the cacti to bloom.

The Sonoran Desert nature loop trail led us uphill where we saw all sorts of cacti which should be blooming profusely in a few weeks. There was a healthy stand of organ pipe cacti among the saguaros.

On another loop we learned how the plants have been used for medicine, food, home building, and other purposes. These Indians were building a shelter as they might have done centuries before.

The Akimel O’oodham Roundhouse is one example of the Indian’s culture in the Sonoran Desert.

We saw plenty of Agave cacti and I quickly realized this is what I have in my backyard that I picked up in Sedona twelve years ago.

My favorite of the day was the butterfly garden. We were enclosed with perhaps more people than butterflies as we all flitted from flower to flower looking for either nectar or the perfect picture!

The green one is a malachite.

In nearby Tempe we stopped for our first Ethiopian meal at Café Lalibela. We were served a variety of foods on a platter that included split peas, lentils, cabbage and other vegetables. We used our thin flat bread, made similar to a tortilla or very thin crepe to scoop our food from the platter. No forks or licking fingers at this meal!