Last June, we had our landscaper install several shrubs and trees around the property. One of those is a flowering plum tree in the courtyard. Being a deciduous tree, it lost most of its leaves over the winter. Now that spring has sprung, the tree is showing several little (¾ inch) flowers and some new foliage. Click on the image to enlarge.
We were at the dog park again today. While the dogs ran around, I took pictures of them and of some of the wildflowers growing around the perimeter of the park. This Desert Mallow, sometimes called Apricot Globe Mallow, can be seen all over the southwestern desert regions. Their half-inch flowers bloom between February and November. Click on the image to enlarge.
We have had our spa since last July. We enjoy it a lot, especially on the warmer days. If we get into the spa late in the afternoon, however, the sun going down on the west side of the house shines directly into the spa.
I asked the gentleman who installed the screen patio enclosure to come out and install a roll-down shade for us. He installed a couple more extruded aluminum supports (the same material used for the original patio) to hold the shade on the west end of the patio.
Image: Before and after – click to enlarge
I say temporary in the title since this shade is a cheap Chinese plastic shade that won’t last in the Arizona sun. We are already planning on getting a custom shade from one of the warehouse home improvement stores. We saw one we really liked at our friends’ house on the Colorado River. The supports installed today will be permanent.
These rather inhospitable looking spikes are on the stems of the ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) planted in front of the house. Our ocotillo is currently dormant, but we’re hoping that the monsoons will bring it back to actively producing leaves and flowers.
Wikipedia says this about the Ocotillo:
For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (1-2 inch) ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.
Individual stems may reach a diameter of 2 inches at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 30 feet. The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that the branches are pole-like and only infrequently divide further, and specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine.
The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.
Verna prepared this sumptuous Easter Saturday meal this afternoon; pan-seared ribeye steaks with Danish-style stuffed potatoes and blanched asparagus. Not to worry, neither of us could finish a meal this huge, so we split it and still had leftovers.
Now that spring is in full effect, we finally got around to hanging up the seed bell out back. One of the early visitors is a cardinal. Click on the image to enlarge.
