Monsoon Madness 2023
As the whole country has dealt with crazy, extreme weather conditions we have experienced Monsoon Madness here in Arizona. We are truly grateful our storm loss was minimal compared to those who lost their homes, loved ones and so much more.
We do a “rain dance” for the wonderful monsoon rain! But with the rain come extremely strong winds. These storms come on fast but move through fast.
As you would imagine, trees in the desert environment are precious commodities. With the recent storms we lost our beloved 40′ Palo Verde tree that our arborist called the “most beautiful” tree in the neighborhood. I had a love/hate relationship with this tree. I loved it for its majestic foliage, bright yellow blossoms that nurtured the bees and its wonderful shade that sheltered my pots on the front patio. On the “hate” side we constantly had to be cleaning up something the tree produced all year: millions of yellow flowers petals, thousand of pods, broken limbs and very small leaves. With this year’s storms it dropped three different limbs and finally stood with one “weakling” branch. We had no choice but to remove what was left.
We suffered another storm loss when one of a set of three tall red pots blew over and broke. These pots had traveled from NC to AZ. It is now in the pot “rehab” clinic being glued back together. There is more to come about of the process. Wish me luck on this endeavor.
But the rains bring other wonderful things to the desert. The desert plants that can survive with very little moisture perk up and enjoy all the rain. Some plants only bloom with the rains like the Rain Lily, Zephyranthes Candida. https://deserthorizonnursery.com/plant-catalog/rain-lily-white.
Also, I love how some cactus take advantage of the rains and show their stuff like this Trumpet Flower Cactus Tricholobivia hyb.
To keep with the horticultural theme my latest glass work is a combination of acrylic painting with an embellished glass overlay. This my favorite so far. Let me know if you need more info on this or other glass work shown on our website.
Enjoy Fall and hopefully cooler temperatures!
Best to all:
Mary
