The Fountain Hills Botanical Garden is showing some color after our January rains.

It’s amazing how peaceful it is once you get down the trail a bit. The road noise disappears and the sounds you hear are birds. The verdin are vocal now because they’re busy building nests. Other birds you may hear are cactus wren, Gambel’s quail and northern flicker, just to mention a few.

The pretty red tubular flowers blooming all over the trail are chuparosa, which attract hummingbirds. The pink fairy duster is aptly named because it has pale pink flowers that look like a fluffy powder puff. The Mormon tea and triangle leaf bursage have blooms that are small and pale yellow - look closely to see them.

A big thank you goes out to Carol Carrierre, Janice Holden and her husband, Sandy Heunisch, Donna Haustowich and Sandy Larson who did trail maintenance.

The rains are good for the plants but sometimes troublesome for parts of the trail.

If you’d like to help work in the garden, the next workday is Monday, Feb. 23, at 9 a.m. We meet in the parking area for assignments. If you’re interested in learning more about our group, you can find us the third Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. in the Community Center. We’re always looking for new members.