APGA Day One

This morning we got up at the crack of dawn and headed to the conference hotel to register. We then hopped on a bus and left Scottsdale for Tucson. On the bus we learned lots of interesting tidbits about the Sonoran desert environment such as the fact that its known for its saguaro cacti. We also learned the 3 key ingredients in the recipe of a desert: 1) extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), 2) dry conditions, and 3) less than 10 inches of water per annum.
Then we learned about ethnobotany which is the study of people and plants and how it encompasses nature, art, and culture. This was much of the focus of the Tohono Chul Park (which means desert corner or elbow).  They also gave us free samples of delicious muffins made from native ingredients: pumpkin cornbread, prickly pear honey, and our favorite, chocolate chile bacon. 

After a couple hours we arrived in Tucson at Tohono Chul. We were divided into tour groups with different garden employees. With our guide, we made our way through the garden, stopping every once in a while for more details about the inner workings of the garden and pausing often to take a picture or two.  As we're still missing Italy,  We are really glad the landscape is vastly different. We've never been anywhere like this before!  Though it looks so different , we were surprised to see some repeated plants. It makes sense, however considering they share a similar soil type and arid conditions.

Our last stop at Tohono Chul was the Reptile Wrangle show where we saw our first gopher snake, rattle snake, & touched a Gila (pronounced He-la) monster. The snakes were honestly terrifying at first, but as the wranglers explained more and more about how non-aggressive each breed was they became slightly less terrifying--we don't plan on signing up for wrangler camp any time soon though.  We concluded the morning at Tohono Chul with a delicious lunch before loading back on the bus towards Tucson Botanic Garden. 

While Tucson Botanic boasted a similiar plant pallette to Tohono Chul, as it was only on 5.5 acres (as opposed to 49) it felt much more intimate and was filled with many themed "garden rooms". Our favorite areas were the herb garden, the cacti display garden, and the home for the garden's first annual "Grow-Down" competition. For this competition, four designers implemented water smart designs that could be repeated by homeowners. We wholeheartedly agreed with the committee on the best design. After touring the garden, we got to mix and mingle with other conference attendees over local dishes. Our favorite was the pineapple dusted in chili powder.

One of my (Ann's) favorite things about this conference is the chance to meet great people who love the same kind of work as we do and to network. While walking through Tohono Chul today I got to speak with the Director of Education at Fairchild Botanic in Miami which has one of the most esteemed education programs in the nation. I may have even found a place to complete a post-doc!

Another of the great experiences of this trip is getting to know the new students in the Public Horticulture program. We've had so much fun walking around the gardens with them and are excited to see how much they are enjoying it. They'll be contributing to the blog this week as one of their introductions into the program. 

War Eagle!
Ann and Leah