More Desert Beauties

It's April, it's spring and I'm being inspired by the gorgeous spring beauties around me. One of the biggest surprises here when I first saw it was the desert willow flower. Chilopsis linearis to be exact, a member of the catalpa family! Desert willows come in several varieties, some "wilder," some benefiting from a little domestication. This particular one came up voluntarily, next to the walk in front of our house. My husband thought it was too close, so I tried to move it. Of course that didn't work, but surprise! It came up again the next spring, same place. We decided to leave it, and it grew into the most gorgeous little tree that shaded the walk.  Last year, I took photos of the flowers that remind me of little orchids:

chilopsis linearis

Then last week, when I was looking for flower pix to paint from, I was stopped by this one.

Here's the quickie painting I did:

Desert Willow