Fruit and Flowers in Arizona

While I have a difficult time thinking of moving to Arizona on a full - time basis; there was one thing that was intriguing.

The abundant fruit.

In an aunt's backyard, there were three fruit trees loaded with produce.

A lemon tree (left).

A grapefruit tree (lower right).

And an orange tree (lower, left side of page).

That was impressive.  It was also impressive to see fruit trees planted throughout the Valley of the Sun.

Since I was only there a few days, there is much I don't know.  It seems obvious all these trees were planted, but I'm not sure if they grow and produce fruit each year without extra effort or if there is a lot of gardening and work to do each year to see a harvest.

The trees are short and bushy (lower right), so they provide shade to animals and birds and seem to hold on to the moisture that might come through the area.

It seems it might be easier to have multiple fruit servings in your diet if you could pluck them from a tree outside your door ever day.

The Desert Marigold flower was a bright eyed plant I came across on my walk near my hotel.  The plant squats close to the ground, but produces a lot of the brilliant yellow flowers.  A small piece of sunshine on a dull carpet of sand.

Dotting the landscape around Phoenix are many Palm Trees.  Some of the trees I saw in residential areas had smooth trunks while others were shaggier.

They are interesting.  The small cluster of leaves at the top doesn't do much in terms of shading people or the ground, but the trees offer an interesting mix of variety to the flora and fauna. 

Some of the trees are short and stocky, while the ones that catch your eye stand tall, 30 feet or more in the air, almost daring the passer by to give them a climb. 

I passed on that offer.

The Saguaro Cactus is a staple of the Sonoran Desert.  It's one of the plants I think about when I think about the desert.

The two to the left stand near the lemon, orange, and grapefruit trees - climbing 20 feet in the air.  They were dwarfed by some other much older cacti in their neighborhood.

Some of these can be as old as 200 years!  Which means they can get tall.

But the information about them indicate at age 10 they might be less than two inches high.  That's right, inches.

Perhaps the most popular of the succulents in the desert southwest is the Agave.  These large, imposing plants have sharp barbs arranged like teeth along the edge of each leaf (below right). 

I was told how sharp they were and how the barbs quickly dug into whatever it gripped and didn't let go easily.

Let's just say, I didn't feel the need to learn the hard way.

The bluish color of the plant provides a welcome contrast to the sand and rock of the desert.  But what makes this plant so popular is its flower.

The flower stalks nectar can be used as an alternative to sugar.  Distilled, its known as mezcal, and one of the best known forms of mezcal is tequila.

I'm sure it takes more than flowers from three plants to get more than a few drops.

Interestingly, the Saguaro woody interior was one of the liquid containers before canteens were available.  I wonder if that has anything to do with the fruit of the Agave?