Plants, Architecture, History and Art

Scottsdale, AZ

Well, it was one busy day in the greater Phoenix area for me.

I started and ended today at the Desert Botanical Garden. Given how much I like cacti, you can imagine how much I appreciated this garden even more than usual. So I’m afraid you’ll see that I got a little carried away choosing pictures for today’s blog. I had only a short time there in the morning but I went back at the end of the day to see the garden again because they have a special light show on right now. So I got back there at 3:30ish and saw some more of the plants in daylight, then grabbed some wine and a salad and waited for the sun to go down.

I learned more than I can write about desert plants partly because there was so much info but mostly because I just can’t remember it all now. I really appreciate the recommendation that several people gave me to visit this venue and I would highly recommend it to others.

Next it was off for my 11 am appointment to tour Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and architecture school on the side of the hills in Scottsdale. I first learned about FLW in an evening interior design course I took back in Winnipeg in 1976-79. We learned just a little about the history of furniture design and architecture and FLW was one of the architects we studied. He was an amazing man, especially given he didn’t have any formal training beyond high school. What he did have was a curious mind and a strong will.

He loved nature and that really comes through in the design and construction of Taliesin West. His use of what was called desert organic rubble masonry, was the most obvious indication. The walls were made of the rock and sand of the desert, and most walls were built at a 15 – 18 degree slant because that was the slope of the mountain in behind the house. And he didn’t close in rooms unless really necessary, instead allowing the breezes and light to come into his work spaces.

He was an interesting character personally, and from some of the stories, it sounds like he wasn’t a person that you could easily like. His apprentices worked hard, but were rewarded with learning from a master. They travelled with him from his summer home/school in Wisconsin (Talieson) to the one here in Scottsdale. The school of architecture continues today with 45 students who continue to travel back and forth during their studies.

He owned 85 cars in his lifetime and was apparently a terrible driver. In the end his wfie used to have to drive them. His favourite color was red and you’ll notice that in the pictures. He likes to mix it up with shapes, with triangles being his favourite. He loved movies and his grandaughter, was Anne Baxter, a film star who starred in All About Eve, among others.

Of the list of 100 significant buildings in the U.S. 11 of them are designed by FLW. There are still 400 buildings of his design left and the Foundation is working to preserve as many of them as possible.

After my immersion in architecture this morning, it was on to History and Art as I headed to Old Town Scottsdale for lunch and to do a little window shopping. I stopped for a sandwich and I might have a had a sundae, at the Sugarbowl on the main drag in Old Town Scottsdale. It is a old diner style restaurant serving all kinds of ice cream treats. I might have had a hot caramel sundae.

Then I worked off some of lunch walking around Old Town and up and down one of the streets that is specifically non-stop art galleries, mostly specializing in artists and art from the area. They have Thursday evening Art Walks that includes wine and food along the way, or did the last time we were there. I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without.