Botanical Garden

As members of the Botanical Garden, we have the benefit of free membership whenever we feel like it.  So, to help inspire us for our impending big landscaping remodel, we decided to go visit and get excited about Sonoran plants. 

While I'm still not pro-cactus, these ones are pretty amazing.

Ed had to take a little time to grind some mesquite pods, just like the native Arizona people. 

We were pretty taken with this cactus (saguaro) skeleton, as well. 

Admittedly, I was not as excited as I'd hoped about the desert plants. However, one did catch my eye. I thought this little agave was very cute, and I really liked how symmetrical it was. Spoiler - we're now the proud owners of two Parry's Agaves. I can't wait to see how they grow :). 

Spring was definitely just beginning to enter the garden, with a few early plants beginning their blooms. 

On our way out, we walked through the art installation, that we had a great time seeing with Bill and Jenny at La Noche de las Luminerias. It was fun to see them in the daytime as well. 

All that walking around certainly worked up an appetite, so we decided to go to Gertrudes, the new restaurant that just opened at the gardens. We were certainly not disappointed. It helped that the weather was ideal, and we were able to sit outside on the patio, sipping a mimosa (me) and coffee (Ed) and enjoying watching clouds roll by and a little quail hopping around through the plants. 

                            

The, food, though, was pretty darn wonderful, too. We couldn't decide between breakfast or lunch. Despite it being 12pm, they had a great looking breakfast menu. So, we decided to have one of each. 

Our breakfast choice: The Hot Mess

Okay, this was wonderful. It felt very bay area-ish to be having a meal of locally sourced, organic produce. Definitely the best eggs I've ever had, and the other flavors of salsa verde, pork, cheese and tortillas was just fabulous. This one came highly recommended, and for good reason. 

For our lunch course, we went with a blue cheese burger. We were sold on the blue cheese being from Point Reyes, and were certainly not disappointed. Truly telling, I had a hugely difficult time deciding on that all important "last bite."

Just as we finished our meal, the clouds started rolling in more quickly and the temperature dropped, making us glad we had finished and were heading home. These kinds of days are just lovely.