Our Marilyn

A heart that knows how
to encourage and gather
people together

~ carliewired

My Monday morning church ladies had to make a change to our quilting schedule today. The room we normally occupy has been taken over this morning in preparation for an event later this week. The space we would have for tables and sewing machines is now a stage.

Our Marilyn, our leader and organizer, invited all of us to her home in the Foothills for coffee and conversation. It is a lovely home with a fabulous backyard that's been landscaped by her son. The yard is xeriscape and has kept the flavour of the desert just outside its boundaries.

We had a lovely visit in her home. We sat and watched the hummingbirds at the feeders, marveled at the flowers and tracked a roadrunner that scampered through.

What caught my attention was a tree I'd not seen before. Marilyn called it an Orchid Tree. It was in full bloom in her back yard. Each purple blossom was about 5 to 6 inches across.

It would seem that an Orchid Tree (Bauhinia) is not a native to North America. It is Asian. In the state of Florida it is considered invasive and is found wild in some areas. It would seem to thrive in full sun and heat. I assume that the desert environment will not encourage it to become an invasive plant here in Arizona. It needs water, especially in the heat. This makes for a beautiful and very showy specimen tree.