In defense of non-native flora and fauna in Phoenix, Arizona

I've always been a defender of non-native plants and animals in places like Phoenix, Arizona. I myself am one of those animals, migrating from Minnesota in my teens. And since I love gardening, I have a LOT of non-native plants here around my home in Glendale, which is a suburb of Phoenix.

There have been a lot of people who have always taken an opposing view, with a preference for only native species to live there, and of course that leaves me, and my daffodils, out. It also would mean no dachshunds, as canis lupus familiaris, var. wiener dog, is not a native animal to the Sonoran Desert. And when people say that my plants, animals, and myself are non-native, I guess I have to agree. We really don't belong there, in a place that gets so hot that even the roadrunners slow down a bit in the summer.

And if someone is buying the beers, I'll smile and nod in agreement that the Sonoran Desert (where Phoenix is) should be left to the saguaros and the gila monsters. That is, if gila monsters are native (I'm not sure about that, but I know that saguaros are). I suppose anything that can live in the desert without any type of help from people (including scrounging garbage) should be the only things allowed to live there. But just between you and me, I think that it would be kind of a shame if everybody left, and took their daffodils, and their wiener dogs.

As you can tell, I'm a defender of non-native flora and fauna in Phoenix. No, palms trees aren't native to Phoenix, but I love to see them. And I've planted a lot of non-native plants here which makes living here a pure joy to me. I love living in the Phoenix, Arizona area, but my Phoenix needs to be a garden, with dogs, and also with air conditioning. I will admit that it's artificiality, but to me it's what humans do, creating an environment that they enjoy, painting with a palette of colors that's harmonious to the world that they want to see every day.

Don't get me wrong, I love the virgin desert, and I love to go out and see it. But right around me I want to live in a garden, with daffodils, and wiener dogs.

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