While chatting with the owner of the Cactus Ranch Andrew asked him the question I’d been wondering about all along “are there any gardeners in Truth or Consequences?” the owner kind of chuckled and I added “it’s not really a plant focused community is it?”
After thinking for awhile he came up with one (!) "sort of" garden. It turns out the owner of a local art gallery had a penchant for desert plants. Whenever he’d sell a painting he’d drive over to the Cactus Ranch, pop the trunk on his Cadillac, and say “filler up!”
The gallery/Cadillac owner is gone now (whether down the road or to the great art gallery in the sky I did not ask) but his plants live on, for the most part (photos above and below).
The shrub on the left was the greenest thing I saw during our visit!
Anyone know what it is?
This poor guy has seen better days.
His spikes still look good though.
And I’ll never tire of seeing cactus back-lit by the sun, especially against a colored wall. It’s one of the most magical things…
As I was about to leave I spotted this...
...a desert rose.. "desert rose is the colloquial name given to rosette formations of the minerals gypsum and barite with poikilotopic sand inclusions. The 'petals' are crystals flattened on the c crystallographic axis, fanning open along characteristic gypsum cleavage planes. The rosette crystal habit tends to occur when the crystals form in arid sandy conditions, such as the evaporation of a shallow salt basin." (source)
After that somewhat successful garden visit I decided to see if I couldn't find another one or two gardeners in this small town. There had to be a couple right? Driving on I spotted these tall spires...
So beautiful silhouetted against the blue sky! As I framed my shot the homeowner, and his very large dog, came around the side of the house. At that moment I was happy to be observing my number one rule of photographic adventures...stay on the sidewalk (or at least the public right-of-way), do not trespass. I mentioned how gorgeous I thought these were and asked for a name. I was told they were bamboo, I'm not sure if I was dealing with a local common name for a plant or a language barrier...anyone have an idea what this actually is?
This white tree against a blue sky is pretty enough in it's own right but really caught my eye were the dozens of Mourning Doves, for me there is no sound more evocative of the desert than the song of the Mourning Dove.
Rock houses are not uncommon here. This is one of the nicest versions I've seen...
More green!
Now I understand the appeal of Ice Plant in the desert...
The color went just a little funky here but I had to share this stairway...
Only the bravest of the brave dare climb it.
Blooming dasylirion?
Sometimes they get sleepy...
Louis this palm shot is for you!
Clean and tidy this garden is. There is a lot of empty space but also several choice specimens and quite possibly the biggest and best looking agave in all of T or C...
The chain-link fence doesn't really provide the sexiest of backdrops does it?
This garden was my favorite!
True it does prominently feature part of a car...but it has personality!
Entry stepping "stones"...
Which double as a back-scratcher.
Of course in true T or C style there are rings around the agaves...(thankfully not scalloped concrete!)
But they take it up a notch continuing the circular theme to the fence...
I wish I could have gotten a better shot of the rusty bit on the side fence, it looked vaguely floral...
Love the coloration on this large opuntia planting!
Especially framing a couple of powdery agaves.
These would be very wonderful in my garden!
And this! I just stared at this composition for awhile. The fence, the house...angles everywhere!
And a mass planting of opuntia and agave...
This one is a little on the sad side, but there's so much going on here I had to include it.
I think the power company came along and whacked back the agave bloom...
But it refused to give up! Look at those beautiful little plantlets.
Around the corner was another old bloom...
And we end our tour here...
