Here we go. Southern States.: Day 11 - The Botanical Garden and Frank Lloyd Wright

One of the main reasons to travel is to have the chance to look at beautiful things that give us pause and inspire us. Today was all about that.
In the morning we entered the botanical garden of Phoenix, one of the jewels of this city.
We learned that there are three different deserts across the south west: Sonora, Mojave and Chihuahua. Mojave is California and Nevada, Sonora is in Arizona, and Chihuahua is in Mexico and Texas. In this garden you could see which plants live in each area.

Some desert plants look like corals and seaweed in the ocean. What a paradox.

We saw many varieties of barrel cactus, agave, aloe, yucca, and chollas and willows.

Large agave in front of ocotillo

Large yucca and barrel cactus

Yucca trees inside have strong thread with needle incorporated.

We got acquainted with creosote, ocotillo, prickly pear, boojan tree, jojoba tree, saguaro, cardon, and Mesquite. Mesquite is an amazing tree and every single part can be used. The sap hardens in little rocks and can be sucked when you have a soar throat. The black pitch can be boiled down to make black paint. The pods can be grounded up into Mesquite flower. The wood can be used for burning, smoking or construction, since it's very durable.

Saguaro cactus can grow very tall. Under the thick skin and flesh which store all the water, there are ribs that keep the structure upright. They make bright red flowers in June and are harvested to make a sweet syrup. Woodpeckers bore holes on them to make nests. Afterwards other birds use the same nests on the saguaro cactus.

We learned how ocotillos can be used to make fences. Sometimes the poles grow roots again and it becomes a living fence.

A fence made with ocotillo branches

We took a tour with our docent Nancy and she was very knowledgeable.

Our docent by a tall saguaro

We took a self guided tour about native Americans and how they made a living in this desert. The wikiup is a shelter, like a hut made of shrub tied together agave strings, with a round roof.

A Wikiup

Cottonwood tree

In the afternoon we drove to Taliesin West, which is a house designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The first Taliesin was built in Wisconsin on his mother's property and it was more in a traditional style. Taliesin is the Welsh word for shining brow, from a Welsh legend about a boy with a shining brow. It also describes the location where a house can be placed on a hill, which is not at the top but two thirds of the way up... like a brow.

The only way to visit the house is with a tour guide and it was well worth it. Our guide Diedra gave us real insights on the house history, Wright's style and personality, his wife Olgivanna, and the life at the school.

The house was build with materials taken from the local environment by his apprentices and it is a work of art, elegant and warm.
Frank Lloyd Wright, born in 1867, was a very innovative architect for his time. He wanted his home to blend with the surrounding environment, hence the large low profile plans. He invented the open frame living quarters. He was the first to use reinforced concrete. He wanted to break with the boxed home, where every room in the house has to be its own little box. He liked to have a more fluid arrangement.
The grounds are still hosting the school of architecture where students can earn a Masters degree.
Students are interviewed thoroughly to make sure they are aware of the harsh environment and their duties to the school.
They may live in a home built by previous apprentices in the desert with no running water and electricity with solar panels. They are obliged to have a major gala event each month, where they do everything from cooking, preparing, cleaning and entertaining.
Also in every day life, they are supposed to do one week of a chore, like washing dishes after a meal for 70 people.
The school is open only during the winter months and then they all move to the Taliesin in Wisconsin for the summer.