Package of seeds arrives in AZ from MN

We received a package from our good friends the Oki's from good 'ole Minnie-Soda. It contained seeds for some gorgeous flowers that Eliz had grown at her house in Oh-wah-ton-ahhhh and she had said numerous times that she would be sending some seeds down that she thought would do really well here in the desert climate.

The types of seeds she sent were a 'Jolly Bee' which is a Geranium hybrid & some 'Jacob Cline Monarda'
DW was so excited to receive the package that DH & DW zipped right out and bought a special planter just to get them started. Here is a photo of the seeds planted and ready to grow!

We were so excited at the thought of having native MN flowers here in AZ that it inspired us to venture out and take some photos of the vegetation here in AZ. Lots of the cactuses are in bloom right now and lots of other plants are blooming with flowers. It's quite beautiful actually.
We know that most people think the desert is a brown, dust bowl of a place, but it's quite the opposite. Here are some photos we took tonight showing the blooms.
Enjoy! We'll keep you updated on the progress of our little seedlings!! "YAY"!!

Here is a photo of a pink flowering bush that we have NO idea of what it's called. Still a beautiful color!

Here's a photo of some flowers DH & DW had at the house in Owatonna. We fell in love with the fact that they had multiple colors for the flowers. I "DH" can't tell you what they are called, but I'm sure when DW proof reads this blog she'll know the name of the plant. Granted, we NEVER had bugs like the one pictured above to deal with. Just dem pesky mosquitos. DW actually killed one of these on our block wall the other night and the back of it was FULL of eggs. As we were watching this "CREATURE" we were actually wondering if it was laying eggs?? "YUCK"

Here is an amazing flower. The colors and look of this makes us think of something you would find at the bottom of the ocean. The color is amazing!

Here is a small flower garden in front of a home in our neighborhood. As you can see it's not much different from a flower garden we had back in MN. Beautiful aroma and colors.

The Prickly Pear cactuses are starting to bloom. It's quite amazing to think something that could wreak such havoc to a person if you mess with it, can actually be quite tranquil at the same time. Again the Desert is quite beautiful in it's own defensive way.

Here's a close-up of one of the blooms.

This one we thought is very unique. The flowers actually seemed telescopic, one blooming and extending from the previous one! We learn something new about the desert every day & this day it was because of our dear friend ELIZ. "THANK YOU"

Here is a photo of a tree that blooms here. They are EVERYWHERE! DH has been mad on many occasions because of this tree. He parks the convertible by one of these trees at work and it sheds worse than anything he has seen in MN. He spent several hours detailing the convertible today and as we took this picture he said a few expletives. LOL! Still it's an amazing color to see as you drive around.

Here is a photo of a different type of Prickly Pear Cactus that looks like a bunch of hands sticking out. DW mentioned it looked a lot like monster hands from the movie "MONSTERS INC." DH thinks it looks a lot like a b'day cake.

Here is a photo of an exotic flower that blooms in MN as well. We don't think it's something that can be planted in the ground in MN, but can be stored indoors till spring. DH knows this is a Hibiscus. DH's family have these in the back yard in MN. Beautiful.