The Voice Box

Another visit in the month of November to Tuscon habitats, and this time it was Mount Lemmon, situated in the Santa Catalina Mountains, chasing Agaves. The agaves were over 7000 feet high, and were perched on rocky ridges.  Surprisingly, considering the time of the year, the weather was relatively warm despite the height.  But around one week later, the snow began to fall which is usual for the area.  The agaves in habitat were Agave parryi var parryi. http://agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9629

I almost missed out on Arizona this year.  Encouraged by the cold wings which were headed to my London base, I decided on a shortened escapade; no Desert Garden and Phoenix, just wonderful Tucson.  In case you are wondering, this has been on my calendar for the last four years. The itinerary is much the same as the years before, a Canyon visit, a couple nurseries, and this time the Ironwood Forest National Park.  I am truly grateful to Marty - Arizona Agave  for the effort in making the visit enjoyable, and that includes the delicious meals at the family Mexican restaurant. I will start off with Arid Lands which I love visiting, and is the kind of nursery that we do not have here in the UK. To get there , I flew from London Heathrow via Dallas Fort Worth in Texas, and I stayed most of the time at Four Points by Sheraton at Tucson Airport. In pursuit of looking at young plants, the nurseries are my first stop. And Tucson has a wonderful selection of the...

In many ways, the Saguaro fulfills the cactus icon of  Southwestern United States, and it comes as no surprise that it is so frequently used in advertisements.  As one of the giants of the cactus specimens,  it can grow to almost sixty feet tall.  Its average lifespan is around sixty years, although a few plants  can easily make it to over a hundred years.  The state of Arizona is the perfect place to see these plants at their best, and if you  are around during April to June, you will be excited to see their beautiful white flowers.  By the end of June, spectacular red fruits begin to appear, much to the delight of the birds and other animals.  The fruits are also important in the practical culture of Native Americans. https://youtu.be/K9Is8_nx60E https://youtu.be/cPaH5IZ08js