rev:text
| - More than a year ago, I heard about this garden during a trip to Scottsdale. In my mind, the question formed quite clearly: "What kind of a botanical garden can they possibly have in the middle of the desert?" As a Missouri native, I still have a great deal to learn...and this experience was most informative.
Just as with so many other delightful surprises, I found that Arizona can (and does) host gardens every bit as captivating as those in other states. Despite great variance, they are beautiful in their own way. This was a very novel encounter for me, as I found myself immersed in a land of cacti and thick islands of stalwart plantings yielding flowers of unexpected beauty. Tiny creatures (lizards and geckos) darted here and there beneath some of the plantings, offering amusement to visitors. Birds fluttered amid the trees, and butterflies came to sample the sweet nectar of the desert blooms.
This was both a beautiful experience and an educational moment that I've continued to build on. My knowledge of gardens had been far more limited that I realized, and even after exploring tropical and "classical" botanical gardens across the Eastern United States and the West Coast, I still have a LOT to learn about what a successful garden can actually consist of.
Yet even for those who wish to simply relax and drink in the peace and serenity of this magical wonderland, this will prove an ideal venue for quiet reflection and enjoyment. Children also were enjoying the cacti and the lizards, and there was plenty of room for a diverse assembling of visitors to use the gardens in their own way, at whatever pace they found best. There was also plenty of shade in most spots...a definite consideration given the terrifying Arizona sun!
I will make it a point to come back here during future trips. What a fantastic place this is! I loved it!!
|