Mystery Plants

The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is a wonderful place, particularly in the Spring. I went this month with a friend and fellow writer, Barb, and you’ll hear of more of our adventures in the Desert Botanical Garden blog. And she is my co-conspirator in this month’s Plant of the Month activity.

I also discovered two plants there which are related in some way to previous plants of the month, so I’m showing pictures of them here and challenging readers to identify their relatives. If you think you know what they are, send in your comments and I’ll let you know if you’re correct when I reveal their true identities and their relatives in July 2021.

The first is an eye-catching tree which is planted in the main section of the garden. Barb and I were both entranced by the delicate blossoms and fuzzy “flowers,” but they weren’t labeled there. We went all over the gardens before we found some with “nametags,” and that’s when we discovered a relationship with a previous POTM. Do you know or can you guess what this plant is called?

The second plant that caught my eye was a very spiny cactus. It’s not a huge cactus (although it might grow a lot bigger in the wild), but it is certainly well-equipped for self-defense. I nicknamed it “Spike.” Again, it wasn’t marked with its official name in the entrance garden, so we had to search to find out what it was. When we did, we discovered it is indeed a relative of a previous POTM.

Think you know? Give us your guesses below – the answer will be emailed to you in July!

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