Joanne Winer
QUARTZSITE TIMES
April 18th, 2006
This is a very special time for Celia’s Rainbow Gardens, when all the trees, cacti and bushes are in full bloom and the array of colors is at its best.
Right now, the Argentine Giant cacti are full of blooms, huge creamy white bell shaped flowers that often dwarf the cacti they bloom on.
There are several areas in the Gardens on the upper area along the Chapel Trail that are now in full bloom.
Also, all over the Gardens, most of the other cacti are filling out with beautiful flowers in every color of the rainbow.
The hedgehog cacti have huge magenta colored blooms, the prickly pear have yellow, orange and red colored blossoms, the chollas have blossoms in a greenish yellow, and the beavertail have many different colors from yellow to red.
Along the Chapel Trail, the Master Gardeners area is in full bloom, with deep purple hibiscus, brilliant red bottle brush, orange-red honeysuckle, blue rosemary, yellow brittlebush, blue-purple lavender, maroon-red valentine bush, and many other plants in a variety of colors.
Most of the trees are now also in bloom, as are the oleanders and other bushes throughout the Gardens.
It is a beautiful sight to see nature at its best and to find hidden treasures of color on plants that seem to be all stickers and spines.
Be sure to take a camera if you want some great pictures of this huge array of colors.
While walking in the Gardens, please be sure to stay on the trails and watch out for the critters. This is the time of year when the snakes are coming out of hibernation and mating and are having their young, and several of the bushes and trees are where they are nesting.
The scorpions and bees are also found at this time of year, so caution is necessary. You will also see many kinds of lizards and a few kangaroo rats, as this is their habitat also. For bird watchers, there are many kinds of birds to be found nesting in the trees and cacti, especially the saguaros. You may even see some rabbits, and there are coyotes in the area.
There are many books available at the library to help you identify the wide range of plants you will see in the Gardens.
Identification plaques for most of the plants have been added, and more will be put in so that everyone will become familiar with them.
The desert in bloom is really something to see, especially if you are not from the area and have not seen them before.