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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Chihuly in the Desert - Phoenix

We knew we wanted to see the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and got to do that last week.
It was a terrific bright and sunny day to walk through the exhibits.  Dale Chihuly had some exhibits lighted in the evening, but we will have to save that for another time.  They were quite spectacular in the day time, more so in the evening we were told.
The Gardens were just the right size - not too big that it takes all day.  But there were enough side trails and exhibits to keep it interesting.  And it was the type of place that made you feel like you wanted to stroll through it and take it all in.  It was all very well done.
There were many separate trails
and some individual displays and as one would expect lots of desert plants with signs.
I love the beauty of the desert but often don't know what kind of cactus or plant I am looking at.

We caught it at a good time to see plenty of blooming plants.  It was really colorful!
And no surprise here - but there was a lot of cacti.  What surprised me was the many different varieties of the same kind, 
- like prickly pear cactus
- or barrel cactus
- or chollas
plus new things.
- Octopus cactus
And familiar plants
Yucca
Agave
The real bonus was all the Chihuly sculptures integrated into different landscapes and gardens.  
They were all around but one never got the feeling of it being too much...

Back near the entrance to the gardens a couple of distinct ones
We even saw a cactus sun dial. 
Unique and surprisingly accurate!

I can see why they have memberships and season tickets here -- one time through was definitely not enough time.  But it was worth it and a real highlight of our time in the area!



9 comments:

  1. Nice pictures Randy. I'm missing the warm temperatures already.

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  2. Just amazing the variety of plants that grow in the desert. A very nice way to spend a day! :c)

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  3. We visited a few years ago and loved it. The addition of the Chihuly sculptures looks like such a nice addition.

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  4. Another must see when I get back out there, thanks for the tour and keep enjoying the great weather.

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  5. We really enjoyed our time in the Gardens. We got to see them lit up and was really impressive.

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  6. I am putting it on my list of things to see, thank you for the great photos. If you ever get to Seattle, you would like the Glass Garden in the Seattle Center.

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  7. I can't believe we haven't ever been there. Maybe this next month we can plan for it.

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  8. added it to my list of things to see :) thanks

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  9. I visited this garden in 2010 & loved it! Looks as if they've added more Chihuly, which is always a good thing.

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