Sunday, May 4, 2014

Yellow

Yellow, seems it's everywhere one looks these days . . . like the yellow orchid vine that climbs a trellis outside our kitchen window,
 cassia blossoms,
or the Santa Rita prickly pear, which shows that nature knows how well yellow and purple go together.
Palo verde trees come in several varieties, so their bloom season is extended over several weeks,
(and more palo verdes, in the wash across the street from our house and marching up the hill).
Of course all those blossoms eventually drop in a rain of gold - these are in our driveway, crisp and crunchy underfoot.
This little wildflower lines the sidewalks and roadsides,
and the yellowbells (a wilder, hardier variety of the orange Tecoma stans seen in many yards) will eventually shoot back up to 6'-8' tall, filled with this year's blossoms and last year's seedpods.

The marvelous mesquite, one of the desert's hardiest plants is in blossom now, source of so many things, from wood (and charcoal) to the pods that provide nutritious flour and other foods, and the wonderful mesquite honey that helps keep my unfortunate allergy to mesquite under control. Just a spoonful in my first cup of tea or coffee in the morning for a homeopathic effect that, over time, has remarkable results.
Last but not least, the more common prickly pear, which I think is quite uncommon in its beauty and the sustenance its fruits and even its spiny pads offer to so many desert creatures, including humans (see my post on prickly pear jelly, http://morning-glory-garden.blogspot.com/search/label/prickly%20pear).

9 comments:

  1. There is a lot of yellow around here, isn't there? Gorgeous pictures!

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  2. Thank you! Yes, especially the palo verdes just now - and all the other flowers - I just love this time of year, every year!

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  3. This certainly was especially enjoyable for me. Yellow is my favorite color. Thanks for wonderful photographs as usual. ;)

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  4. Your part of the world is a lot more lush than mine at the moment, I must say!

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  5. I especially relate to the palo verdes and the marigolds. I woke up to the golden blossoms all over the front of my yard. Love them. Thanks for the garden space.

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  6. Beautiful...the rich colors of the Sonoran Desert this time of year!

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  7. You're welcome, Joy, and Laurie, I'm sure it will be getting more lush soon ;-)

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