The Desert is Ugly and Barren...

...NOT.

I went for a walk with a client/friend this morning, and finally got around to taking some pictures of our amazing fall blooms. Despite it being the END of September, there are flowers everywhere! These are from our walk and my drive home (elevation ranges from 6,500' to 7,000'). Enjoy!

Yellow is a very popular color for desert blooms. I'm not a botanist, so can only guess that it's color has some ultra violet characteristic to attract pollinators - bees, butterflies, hummingbirds. Here are some common examples:


The top one (above) is Chamisa; it grows about 4' tall and wide if left unchecked. The other three plants are mysteries; the picture immediately above is almost 5' tall, while the two below are less than a foot high:



There are some truly odd looking things growing here:

Above you can see Becky (with her dog Thor) next to some examples of this strange, tall, plant, which has leaves like lamb's ear. This gives you a sense of the scale. (And yes, she'll kill me if she sees this picture.) The photo on the right is of a specimen taller than anything in the picture on the left. Wish I knew the name of it!

Speaking of tall, the wild sunflowers this year were unbelievable, some had to be close to 10' tall. Here's one that's merely eye-level:


This is sorta a yellow, but with very interesting seeds:


Not everything is some shade of yellow, however. Yucca, of course:


Wild agastache:


And native aster:


We do have some exotic invasive, such as thistle. Many of these are loathed by ranchers for being toxic to cattle:


Other plants are absolutely essential for both wildlife and livestock:

Silvery winterfat is a welcome sight.

As for trees, we've got 'em. This time of year our cool nights (upper 30's) have the Cottonwoods down in a creek...


...and looking up the mountain, Aspens (below) turning:

Who needs New England? New Mexico colors are just fine, thank you.

Of course, we track the bark beetle's progress by the destruction they wreak. Our fire danger grows with their spread. Look at the dead pinon on the left, and the live juniper on the right (with another skeleton behind it):


Back at Becky's house, I took some pictures of her garden. She can transform a broken pot or busted chair into a thing of beauty:


And her front courtyard is a wonder of xeriscaping. Enjoy!!

above left: red yucca; right: view out the front door


above left: more courtyard; right: two stages butterfly bush bloom.