Yesterday I went with my family to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, AZ.
Dispersed throughout the gardens right now are glass sculptures made by Dale Chihuly.
Because even desert dwellers get tired of seeing cacti, I guess?
But the cacti are very unusual to me, since I grew up in Ohio, which is mostly forests.
And not just cacti, either! I loved looking at the twisted, gnarled trees out here. Turns out the place also has the occasional Ironwood tree, which is notorious for being so hard and dense that it breaks chainsaws. There were also iceberg roses and basil.
And if you got tired of seeing the agave, cacti, and trees, there were still the glass sculptures.
The entire time I was here I couldn’t stop thinking of The Legend of Jamie Roberts and the inspiration this place was giving me for it.
There’s something about being in the desert surrounded by Dr. Seuss-like plants that makes me get inspired.
Seriously, the picture above made me think of either silly-looking trees or if they might be antennae for some large underground predator.
There were fun facts there, too, like: the saguaro cactus is ribbed so it can expand and contract depending on the amount of water inside it.
Because SCIENCE.
If this post was not up to par with previous posts, that’s because this week I’ve been picking up extra work as well as having family visit for birthdays. Sorry!
Next time I will endeavor to do better.