A cool tree in my neighbor's yard.
Overlooking a natural area.
Honey Mesquite, a prominent desert shrub/tree.
Creosote, another prominent shrub.
Yet another prominent shrub.
Now how about some wildflowers. First there is Jimson Weed, used by indigenous tribes as a hallucinogenic. No, I don't know how to use it.
Some sort of legume, it previously had bright purple flowers.
Another purple flower, also fading. Last month these two flowers blanketed the area.
Some yellow flowers.
Now we approach an oasis area.
A closer look at this tree. I'm not sure of the ID. It looks like a Buckeye, but I don't think they are native.
Yucca, the state flower of New Mexico, in the foreground.
In the foreground, Bird of Paradise. It is an Argentinian native that has naturalized here (don't tell the Border Patrol). In the background, Palo Verde, literally green stick. Even the branches carry out photosynthesis.
Back to civilization.
2 comments:
Thanks for the walkabout. Have you noticed other garden-bloggers doing this meme in their own neighborhoods? It's interesting to see the different regions in which we all garden. Check out Christopher's walk in Outside Clyde (http://outsideclyde.blogspot.com/2007/09/walkabout.html) for the latest one I know of.
Since this post is getting a little attention, I'll include a few updates:
1. The "cool tree" in the first picture is a Chinaberry (Melia azedarach). It is occasionally recommended for planting in El Paso but is poisonous, tends to be weak and short-lived, and can be invasive.
2. The trees in the oasis area are Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus). They are not natives but have obviously naturalized in wet areas. This specimen is one of the largest I've seen; there are several used as street side or median plantings throughout the city and they are about half the size or smaller and usually limbed up as trees.
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