The desert blooms with abandon on rare years; this is one of those years. With our plentiful winter rainfall, the flowers are putting on a grand show.
The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy is a substantial tract of land owned by the city of Scottsdale. It is a wildlife corridor and and open land preserve, and it is here that I have been hiking.
A field of California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
California Poppies and Desert, or Coulter's Lupine (Lupinus sparsiflorus)
Chuparosa (Justicia californica)
Pictures were taken on the Paradise Trail to Gateway Saddle Hike, Sunday March 9, 2008.
These are just glorious...thanks so much for sharing them. I can only dream about seeing wildflowers around here...none for a while, at least til the snow stops coming.
Posted by: jodi | March 21, 2008 at 09:24 PM
And who said deserts are barren? Fellow blotanist, here. Just went on a Wildflower hunt last weekend! Isn't a blast? We live in California. If you want to see some pics of our wildflowers feel free to stop by and read my recent post. Can't wait to see the rest of our blotanical friends' spring flowers, especially where it's snowing!
Posted by: Desiree East | March 21, 2008 at 10:13 PM
That chaparosa is just stunning! I have never been fortunate enough to visit the desert when it was in bloom, much less when it has had a banner year - I'm glad you shared with us.
Posted by: Bogie | March 23, 2008 at 07:46 AM
so so gorgeous.
Posted by: Chris Clarke | March 24, 2008 at 03:15 AM
Yeah Chris.
This is not your desert, but you know it. I wonder if our two deserts, so densely interwoven as to have no true border, share a heart.
I am so happy that this is the spring that followed our moving here, this banquet of bloom to remind me that after foresummer and monsoon and winter rains again come flowers...
Posted by: Jenn | March 24, 2008 at 12:02 PM
That looks like a lovely hike! Thanks for sharing the pictures. :)
Looking at your second picture, I'm reminded of my attempt to seed a similar flower combination of bluebonnets and poppies in my lawn, but with no luck.
Posted by: Lori | March 25, 2008 at 06:10 AM
Gorgeous! It almost looks as though they'd been painted in. :)
Posted by: Rurality | March 29, 2008 at 08:02 PM
Wow! I have never seen desert flowers in person.
Posted by: eliz | April 01, 2008 at 08:56 PM
The desert is an amazing place, Eliz, and the Sonoran is unique in many ways.
This year is a banner year for the flowers - a year like this comes every decade or so. I was lucky to see this my first spring down here!
Posted by: Jenn | April 01, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Desert wildflowers are just spectacular, all the more so because they are rare. Really makes one appreciate them, doesn't it.
Posted by: mss @ Zanthan Gardens | April 02, 2008 at 11:58 PM
I was stationed in Arizona for a couple years, and it's surprising how much I miss that climate (well, maybe not considering how much rain and snow we got up in my state this winter). It's amazing how beautiful it can be in the desert.
Posted by: Lindsay | April 16, 2008 at 06:21 PM