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Don't hear a lot of people saying they miss the green lawns and trees of Phoenix. In fact, that's the one thing I don't like about Phoenix, is the lack of green. Guess you must be somewhere even more brown than here, which is saying something!
You know when I grew up we had 3 palm trees, 2 olive trees and lush green grass in the front yard along with an awesome flower bed that had Aloe-Vera and a few other plants that I cant name. Most of my neighbors did as well. We had 4 citrus trees and grass in the backyard, and mind you these were small lots. Most all of my neighbors did as well. In fact when I was 8 years old I wanted a Nintendo and my dad said "no way" he wasn't going to pay $60 for a toy. Later I wanted Nike shoes and again he said "no way" he wasn't going to pay $50 for a pair of shoes I would grow out of in 4 months. BUT, my dad did talk to several of my neighbors and got me set up with my own lawn service business as an 8 year old kid. I bought my own Nintendo, Nike's and GT BMX bikes as well as my own back to school clothes and spending money after that. I had my own lawn service business all the way through high school and until I moved out of Phoenix and did very well for myself. I had everything I wanted and never took a penny from my parents for anything.
I very much want to live somewhere green again. I miss the smell of gas lawn mowers and fresh cut grass and sprinklers immensely!
And YES I live somewhere very not green.
Early this year I was riding from Tempe town lake up into Scottsdale and there were so many orange trees in blossom and oranges all over the ground...I almost stopped and asked someone if I could pay to pick some oranges off their tree and take home. Man I miss those smells!
You know when I grew up we had 3 palm trees, 2 olive trees and lush green grass in the front yard along with an awesome flower bed that had Aloe-Vera and a few other plants that I cant name. Most of my neighbors did as well. We had 4 citrus trees and grass in the backyard, and mind you these were small lots. Most all of my neighbors did as well. In fact when I was 8 years old I wanted a Nintendo and my dad said "no way" he wasn't going to pay $60 for a toy. Later I wanted Nike shoes and again he said "no way" he wasn't going to pay $50 for a pair of shoes I would grow out of in 4 months. BUT, my dad did talk to several of my neighbors and got me set up with my own lawn service business as an 8 year old kid. I bought my own Nintendo, Nike's and GT BMX bikes as well as my own back to school clothes and spending money after that. I had my own lawn service business all the way through high school and until I moved out of Phoenix and did very well for myself. I had everything I wanted and never took a penny from my parents for anything.
I very much want to live somewhere green again. I miss the smell of gas lawn mowers and fresh cut grass and sprinklers immensely!
And YES I live somewhere very not green.
Early this year I was riding from Tempe town lake up into Scottsdale and there were so many orange trees in blossom and oranges all over the ground...I almost stopped and asked someone if I could pay to pick some oranges off their tree and take home. Man I miss those smells!
The blossom smell this spring was intense, I don't know why it seemed stronger than usual but the whole valley it seemed smelled amazing for a month or 2. I missed that time of year when I lived outside of Phoenix for a while as well. And I agree with you, Phoenix is quite green for being a desert. Winters in Northern cities seem extremely brown by comparison residential areas in Phoenix stay green all year round and you don't get the winter brown that I used to get up North.
Don't hear a lot of people saying they miss the green lawns and trees of Phoenix. In fact, that's the one thing I don't like about Phoenix, is the lack of green. Guess you must be somewhere even more brown than here, which is saying something!
A lot of Phoenix is fairly colorful, within our neighborhood I can walk outside and within a 360 degree turn see purple, orange, red, yellow, white and green plants/grass growing in the houses surrounding me. Even in the preserves you can see a lot of color during the winter/spring months. We also pick fruit from our neighborhood, rarely have to buy lemons or oranges from the store. The beauty of springtime in the desert never ceases to amaze me.
What I'm sure you're talking about is lush green eastern landscapes like WI or or NC. It's easy to forget those areas spend a good chunk of the year looking more like this. It's a two way street but I find Arizona's landscape to be stunning and changing of our seasons, as gradual as they may be, can be pretty awesome.
I really miss the green lawns and trees. I grew up mowing lawns and working at a Smitty's grocery store in high school. I lived near Glendale Ave and 27th. Went to Washington High. Most all the places I grew up with are gone now.
Anybody else out there grow up in Phoenix in the 80s-90s? Any memories to share?
FYI: 27th Avenue & Glendale would be Phoenix, not Glendale. Otherwise, I agree because I grew up in a similar environment, only my era was mostly 1960s & '70s. A lot has changed since then: some for the better and some not so much. I remember Smitty's stores ... they seemed to be the places to shop if you needed groceries, appliances, hardware, clothing, and garden supplies. I also mowed lawns in my neighborhood for extra money when I was a kid. Everybody I knew had grass ... not ugly crushed rocks like you see so much nowadays.
The blossom smell this spring was intense, I don't know why it seemed stronger than usual but the whole valley it seemed smelled amazing for a month or 2. I missed that time of year when I lived outside of Phoenix for a while as well. And I agree with you, Phoenix is quite green for being a desert. Winters in Northern cities seem extremely brown by comparison residential areas in Phoenix stay green all year round and you don't get the winter brown that I used to get up North.
I get it!
Yes. The orange tree blossoms along the Crosscut canal system were intense! I would like to find a small condo or house in that area in the next 2-3 years to purchase and use for weekends until I retire in 15 years or so. Seemed like a very active community and seemed very "green" which is what i am looking for. There was a marathon of some sort happening in February near Valentines weekend.
A lot of Phoenix is fairly colorful, within our neighborhood I can walk outside and within a 360 degree turn see purple, orange, red, yellow, white and green plants/grass growing in the houses surrounding me. Even in the preserves you can see a lot of color during the winter/spring months. We also pick fruit from our neighborhood, rarely have to buy lemons or oranges from the store. The beauty of springtime in the desert never ceases to amaze me.
What I'm sure you're talking about is lush green eastern landscapes like WI or or NC. It's easy to forget those areas spend a good chunk of the year looking more like this. It's a two way street but I find Arizona's landscape to be stunning and changing of our seasons, as gradual as they may be, can be pretty awesome.
Yes. The Good lord willing I will be spending the entirety of my life in Arizona. We have everything but the Ocean and some of our lakes are good enough for me.
Just think of the Cities and towns Arizona has that offer a variety of different scenery and history: Flagstaff and the Grand canyon area
Sedona
Prescott
Payson, Pine and Strawberry area
Phoenix and Tucson
Tombstone and Bisbee area
Arizona has a lot to offer and see without ever traveling too far.
A bonus is that New Mexico and San Diego are not far either. NM is full of small towns like Ruidoso for a great weekend getaway and we all know what California offers.
FYI: 27th Avenue & Glendale would be Phoenix, not Glendale. Otherwise, I agree because I grew up in a similar environment, only my era was mostly 1960s & '70s. A lot has changed since then: some for the better and some not so much. I remember Smitty's stores ... they seemed to be the places to shop if you needed groceries, appliances, hardware, clothing, and garden supplies. I also mowed lawns in my neighborhood for extra money when I was a kid. Everybody I knew had grass ... not ugly crushed rocks like you see so much nowadays.
You are correct. It is phoenix proper. I spent a lot of time in the "Glendale" area. Also living off Glendale Rd it was a habit I picked up referring to it as "Glendale" and I guess I still have it.
But yes a lot has changed and some for the better some for the worse. I remember life being slower, I remember being able to walk into 3 different businesses as a 16 year old kid and have 3 job offers within a day or two...good luck with that these days. I chose the Smitty's because it was closer to home. I loved working at that store. Best work experience I ever had. I met a lot of great people and grew up while I worked there. If I was a rich man I would buy the franchise rights and try to start the store brand again and give Wal-Mart a run for its money with better quality and better service...
Yeah what is with all the crushed rock anyway, who came up with that idea? A little story: In 2004 I was demolishing a subdivision of homes somewhere in Arizona and rebuilding them with new modern homes. The old homes were ugly and outdated to say the least and they definitely needed to go but they all (there were about 400) had mature trees and grass lawns...during lunch break I would drive over and park in a yet to be demoed area and do my paperwork and eat lunch with the window down under a shady tree. there were all kinds of birds and rabbits and other little critters everywhere and since all the homes were emptied of tenants it was quiet and a great spot to relax.
Well when we demoed the houses we were also under orders to remove about 90% of the trees to conserve water and ALL the grass had to go...After the subdivision was done and most of the homes were occupied i would still drive past there frequently and I never saw anyone outdoors. It honestly must have been 10 degrees hotter and nobody in their right minds would go out in that asphalt, concrete, stucco crushed rock jungle unless they had to.
No wonder obesity is such an epidemic , and no wonder we have global warming/ climate change.
To me that was a bittersweet experience of watching the old be replaced with the new. i still to this day do not understand why they didn't keep many more of the trees at least.
Yeah what is with all the crushed rock anyway, who came up with that idea? A little story: In 2004 I was demolishing a subdivision of homes somewhere in Arizona and rebuilding them with new modern homes. The old homes were ugly and outdated to say the least and they definitely needed to go but they all (there were about 400) had mature trees and grass lawns...during lunch break I would drive over and park in a yet to be demoed area and do my paperwork and eat lunch with the window down under a shady tree. there were all kinds of birds and rabbits and other little critters everywhere and since all the homes were emptied of tenants it was quiet and a great spot to relax.
Well when we demoed the houses we were also under orders to remove about 90% of the trees to conserve water and ALL the grass had to go...After the subdivision was done and most of the homes were occupied i would still drive past there frequently and I never saw anyone outdoors. It honestly must have been 10 degrees hotter and nobody in their right minds would go out in that asphalt, concrete, stucco crushed rock jungle unless they had to.
It makes no sense to remove all the greenery. Phoenix has been a green oasis ever since the city was founded, and all the transplants who move here & demand all the grass & trees be removed to supposedly "conserve water" are going against what Phoenix was originally meant to be. The founding fathers never envisioned a sprawling concrete jungle with the landscape filled with ugly crushed rock ... they envisioned that a great city would rise, just like the mythical Phoenix bird rose from its ashes. And as far as conserving water, the reduction of agriculture alone has greatly conserved water over the years. There have been reports proving the city uses less water now than it did decades ago. No need to be against grass & trees which consume a very small portion of water in comparison to all the other things water is used for.
You can easily tell "old Phoenix" from "new Phoenix". Most of the older areas (especially the historic districts) have quality constructed homes with lush green manicured lawns & trees. Many of the newer areas are cookie cutter stucco slabs with crushed rock for yards. What a difference! That's one reason why I'll never live in one of the newer neighborhoods where practically all the houses look alike and there's very little shade or greenery.
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