Thanks to our lovely winter rains, there has been a profusion of wildflowers along the highways, hillsides and fields throughout southern Arizona. On a recent drive to Douglas along Hwy 80 we saw huge expanses of yellow composites and Verbena as well as Indian Blanket, Primrose, Prickly Poppy, Lotus and several unidentified colorful masses.
At the San Simon Cienega pond there were fields of yellow and when we walked through them our shoes turned yellow from all the pollen! The pond is drying up considerably, but I think it might still have water until July when the monsoon rains come.
In our yard in Tucson an Agave stalk started to grow a month ago and on Monday when we were there, it is now 12 feet tall and blooming beautifully. The Palo Verde Trees and Prickly Pear Cactus as well as the Saguaros are blooming now too! We hope when we get back to Tucson this weekend, we'll get to see our Torch Cactus bloom. We missed it last year when we were in Portal, but we might time it right this year to see some flowers. It generally blooms the first week in May.
In our yard in Portal we have a lot of "city" plants that we aren't real sure of because they were here when we bought the place, but we had Lilacs and now Roses and Irises blooming. The Wisteria that stretches across the back of the house is a monster and we can barely see out the windows, the plant is so big. The flowers are beautiful and smell lovely. This fall we'll be cutting it back and building a new arbor to replace the old rotted wooden one that can no longer support the huge plants.
It is peak birding season here in Portal now through May and there are birders on our road at all hours of the day with their binoculars and cameras. We enjoy pointing out the birds like the Great Horned Owls if we see where they are day perching. The birders appreciate the tips.
At the San Simon Cienega pond there were fields of yellow and when we walked through them our shoes turned yellow from all the pollen! The pond is drying up considerably, but I think it might still have water until July when the monsoon rains come.
In our yard in Tucson an Agave stalk started to grow a month ago and on Monday when we were there, it is now 12 feet tall and blooming beautifully. The Palo Verde Trees and Prickly Pear Cactus as well as the Saguaros are blooming now too! We hope when we get back to Tucson this weekend, we'll get to see our Torch Cactus bloom. We missed it last year when we were in Portal, but we might time it right this year to see some flowers. It generally blooms the first week in May.
In our yard in Portal we have a lot of "city" plants that we aren't real sure of because they were here when we bought the place, but we had Lilacs and now Roses and Irises blooming. The Wisteria that stretches across the back of the house is a monster and we can barely see out the windows, the plant is so big. The flowers are beautiful and smell lovely. This fall we'll be cutting it back and building a new arbor to replace the old rotted wooden one that can no longer support the huge plants.
It is peak birding season here in Portal now through May and there are birders on our road at all hours of the day with their binoculars and cameras. We enjoy pointing out the birds like the Great Horned Owls if we see where they are day perching. The birders appreciate the tips.
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