Desert is all about textures...

Part of the transition and acclimation from Northwest "webfoot" to Southwest "lizard lips" (my mom used to call me that - yes she did!!) is the incredible difference in plant life.  From fog-shrouded scented cedar and blue-green spruce forests to miles and MILES of seemingly barren terrain hosting stickery, prickly, pokey, leafless things that claim to be plants. 

On the flip side - if you are really really tired of endless lawn mowing - this is the place for you!  NO GRASS (unless you want to bankroll the irrigation districts - water comes all the way from the Colorado River in a series of canals and ditches).  

At first the sandy, gravely yard scaping was rather shocking.  Then I began to get interested in the plants that were dotted here and there in those yards.  No English cottage gardens here - sorry, Anne - but an infinately varied amount of textures and color, nevertheless.

Here are just a few of my favorites, so far...

The Prickley Pear fruit is favored by desert tortoise - there happens to be one living in the Wright's house (tortoise, not cactus...).  We are going to see if the owner will donate one or two for Tuff's Christmas dinner.

I am totally in love with Purple Prickley Pear!!

This Compass Cactus (above) is intriguing - it grows more quickly on the "sunny south side", causing it to twist and actually lean to the south as the weight increases on that side!  They only get about 4 -5' tall before they fall on their face - the south face, of course...

The Strawberry Cactus is considered the most beautiful of the cacti, having brilliant magenta flowers you may often see on calenders. 

Unfortunately, we will have to wait until spring for that event.

 The Teddy Bear, or Jumping Cholla - cute and fuzzy looking - NOT!!  It is very brittle, breaking off amazingly easy to cling with nasty hooks to whatever is close - your pants or shoes, or the dogs nose...eh, Duchess?

More to come - I have a book on the way, for tree identification - you won't believe how many types of palms there are!!