There are still a few flower buds on my ocotillo out front. I had hoped for more, but the monsoons have not come yet. I have been watering around the base lately with limited amounts of water. Maybe the ocotillo will kick in to high flower gear and (hopefully) get a few green leaves too. Click on the image to enlarge.
Today, we went to do our weekly grocery shopping. I picked out a couple of bunches of flowers for the great room. Thse are nearly-white Vendela roses and white carnations. Both look and smell pretty. Click on the image to enlarge.
Many of the saguaro cacti in the area have started to bloom. The saguaro flower is the state flower of Arizona. I took this photo at the shopping center at the west end of town this afternoon on the way home from the dog park. Click on the image to enlarge.
At the end of spring 2011, the landscaper planted shrubs and a small tree in the courtyard. Now that spring 2012 is here, the courtyard is dominated with the blue blossoms on the three Cleveland sage bushes. The little pink blossoms on the plum tree are all but gone and soon the vivid red and yellow flowers on the red bird of paradise shrubs will dominate. Click on the image to enlarge.
I saw several prickly pear flowers on a cactus near the post office in town today. I just love springtime in the desert! Click on the image to enlarge.
This amaryllis isn’t as bright nor was the lighting as good when I took a photo of a flower exactly one year ago today, but this one is still very pretty in spite of those things. I planted the bulb on the side of the California house last year and today there were two amaryllis flowers open. Click on the image to enlarge.
Having a photo of an iris flower on a post about the recycle center might seem a little weird, but in the case of the county recycle center at the landfill in Palos Verdes, CA, there are pretty flowers all around. In fact, the South Coast Botanic Gardens is located just across the boulevard at the site of another landfill. Since the county maintains the garden, I assume they also provide the landscaping for the Recycle Center, although there are more exotic plant species over there.
Image: Iris flower at the Recycle Center. Click image to enlarge.
As for recycling, we brought 2½ 33 gallon-sized bags of crushed aluminum cans for which they paid us around sixty-five bucks. They also take glass, numbered plastics, newspaper and used motor oil. Even though we aren’t greenbats, we do believe recycling is a good thing, especially if we get some cash for doing it.