Tag Archive for: Disneyland

An Imaginary Land With Real Plants

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(Desert Adapted Plants) Indian Mallow

(Desert Adapted Plants) Indian Mallow (Abutilon palmeri)

Exploring Imaginary Landscapes with Desert Adapted Plants

I always enjoy seeing well-designed landscapes that make use of many of my favorite desert adapted plants. A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to explore lovely landscape areas that existed within an imaginary land with real plants that were used to provide a sense of reality to this fictional place.

I invite you to explore these areas along with me and look for clues as to where it is.

Globe mallow, Mexican honeysuckle, and Indian mallow

Globe mallow, Mexican honeysuckle, and Indian mallow

A Desert Oasis in a Fictional World: The Beauty of Desert Adapted Plants

This is a gorgeous layering of three different shrubby plants. Indian mallow (Abutilon palmeri) anchors the background with its gray-green leaves and yellow flowers. In the middle stands Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), which has lovely foliage and orange flowers that appear throughout the year. Globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) adds nice color contrast with its foliage and orange flowers in the foreground. All of these are drought tolerant and thrive in desert gardens.

saguaro cactus, ocotillo, and a little yucca are Desert Adapted Plants

A Taste of Arizona: Desert Plants Creating Authenticity

Continuing our exploration, we walk by a desert planting filled with young heat proof plants such as saguaro cactus, ocotillo, and yucca. It almost made me feel like we were in Arizona.

jojoba shrub (Simmondsia chinensis)

The beautiful green foliage of a jojoba shrub (Simmondsia chinensis) stood out against the reddish walls of a ‘canyon’.

Vertical Elegance: Cereus Cacti and Mexican Fence Post Cactus

(Pachycereus marginatus) cactus which are Desert Adapted Plants

Mexican fence post cactuses (Pachycereus marginatus) along with other cereus cacti add a lovely vertical element.

desert Southwest views

Naturally-themed areas have a plant palette that places you in the desert Southwest. But, we were several hundred miles away from the real desert.

Have you guessed where we were yet? Here is another clue:

A sign detailing the gardens plant life

Information signs reveal the different kinds of plants in this imaginary land. Your final clue is the name of the plants as well as the shape of the small prickly pear pad.

Revealing Radiator Springs: A Disney-Inspired Desert Adventure

Radiator Springs

We were exploring the town of ‘Radiator Springs’ which came to life in the movie ‘Cars’ and its sequels. These are my favorite Disney movies because they take place in my own backyard.

Balancing Reality and Imagination: The Use of Live and Imaginary Plants

I found it pleasantly surprising how well they constructed this imaginary town and used the plants to achieve an authentic look. However, there were some notable exceptions to having live plants throughout Radiator Springs.

Cozy Cone Hotel

Old-fashioned rear lights create imaginary flowers at the Cozy Cone Hotel. 

Cozy Cone Hotel pretend garden

Other car parts serve as components of this cornucopia.

Radiator Springs truck

Inspiration for Your Desert Garden: A Visit to Cars Land

I found myself distracted by both the real and imaginary plants, other visitors reveled in the appearance of the inhabitants of Radiator Springs.

An Imaginary Land With Real Plants

Have you ever visited Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure? If you have the opportunity, you might discover inspiring ideas for your desert garden that could surprise you.

Guess Where I’ve Been?

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted for a few days (or maybe not 😉  I feel somewhat incomplete when I have gone more then three days without writing a blog post, but sometimes life gets a bit crazy or sometimes I go out of town.

I went away for a few days to a ‘mystery’ location.  I had a great time and was able to take some pictures of some beautiful potted plants, annuals, perennials and shrubs.

Some of you may be able to guess where I have been from my photos….

Pink and White Cyclamen

Pink and White Cyclamen

Beautiful potted plants, Easter Lilies, Pink Primrose and Trailing Variegated English Ivy

Beautiful potted plants , Easter Lilies, Pink Primrose and Trailing Variegated English Ivy

Perennial bed full of winter-flowering perennials

Perennial bed full of winter-flowering perennials

Vegetables used as ornamental plants.

Beautiful potted plants , Vegetables used as ornamental plants.

Have you guessed where this is yet?

Let me zoom out a bit in the next few photos…

I love Icelandic Poppies, don't you?

I love Icelandic Poppies, don’t you?

beautiful potted plants

Mt. Lemmon Marigold

beautiful potted plants

Japanese Evergreen Pear Tree

beautiful potted plants

I love daisies, don’t you?

Okay, I think this photo will be a dead giveaway…

beautiful potted plants

A pair of ‘swans’ amidst Blue Pansies

Do you notice the castle in the background?

I was at Disneyland!

Now don’t think for a minute that I didn’t bring my family along…

Can you tell that the sun was in their eyes

Can you tell that the sun was in their eyes?

My husband and I decided to surprise our kids with a 3-day trip to Disneyland.

When my father-in-law died last fall, my mother-in-law received an unexpected life insurance payment from his few years on the Air Force.

She gave some the insurance money to each of us.  So, we decided to use the money to treat ourselves and the kids to a fun vacation.

my daughter

We didn’t tell the kids anything about leaving on a trip.  I had my daughter, Rachele, take the kids to church and I packed up both our cars while they were gone.

When they got home, we told them to get in the cars and we took off.  They had no idea what was going on.  Gracie (above) was in the car with my husband and I.  She guessed where we were going within 3 minutes.

However, Kai and Ruthie, who were in our daughter’s car, couldn’t figure it out.  They kept calling us on the phone, trying to guess.  About two hours later, we stopped for gas and told them where we were going.

Kai

Kai is a little wet after Splash Mountain.

We had a fabulous time and stayed until the park closed each day.

California Adventure

We even spent a whole day at ‘California Adventure’ as well.

Disneyland

I remember going to Disneyland quite often as a child and teenager.  We had taken our two oldest girls quite often when they were young.  In fact, it was our oldest daughter’s idea to go to Disneyland with the younger kids because years ago, we had surprised her and Rachele with a trip there as well.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the gardens were.  I didn’t remember them looking so nice, so I took quite a lot of photos.

There were some great examples of plants that look great in winter for our climate and a unique way to use vegetables.

I’ll share more plant and family photos once my husband emails them to me from his iPhone 🙂

Confessions from a ‘Plant Nerd’