The 2012 ASLA National Convention in Phoenix, AZ, was my first trip out to the Sonoran Desert. Most of these photos were taken at the Desert Botanical Gardens just outside of Phoenix. As someone who has spent his whole life in the deciduous northeast, I think I was under the assumption that the “desert” was…deserted. Of course I knew there were critters scurrying about and big ol’ cacti, but the reality was much more lush and biodiverse than I could have imagined. I was taken aback by the tiny oases, bursting with life in every crack and crevice lucky enough to catch some moisture. I love thinking that, if all goes well and we don’t implode, hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of years from now, when the organic soil layer has grown enough, this same desert may be a fertile grassland inhabited by a whole new host of flora and fauna. Everything is always changing. Also, look at that cute little desert spiny lizard!!