As part of my pre retirement work I spent A LOT of time in Arizona and also took a break to again visit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum located about an hour east of Phoenix. Although this visit is not properly part of our retirement meanderings, it is such a wonderful garden I wanted to include this page showcasing some of the many flowers in the late spring.
The prickly pear were in full bloom in multiple shades ranging from this bright yellow to the mixed shade orange.
The arboretum is located in a little pocket valley nestled in the side of a butte in an otherwise inhospitable desert. A lot of the pathways can be rather steep with various friends along the way. Picket Post House on the cliff was one of Colonel Thompson's homes. It has been opened for tours and events at times but not on a regular basis.
Here are some more examples of the variety of blooms in May.
And here are some of the critters I managed to spot during my brief visit. The garden is also home to a lot more creatures but most of them are nocturnal and the park closes before dark.
These are some of the more prominent succulent or water storing cactus and below just a few more pictures of this great garden. Hopefully sometime in our travels we will get back into Arizona and I'll have a lot more of this great state to report.
