In the Desert

The smell of desert marigolds is one of my favorite scents of all.

They smell like they've been baked by the sun, warm and golden and strong.

Spring is beautiful and terrible. The shocking transition from winter into summer and the gorgeous weather and the piles and piles of wildflowers appearing everywhere, even on the side of the road and in parking lots. The desert marigolds are my favorite because they're the ones I was always most used to seeing.

They came at the time when the school year was traditionally getting close to being over, that time when you're most stressed over classes and most looking forward to the next phase and yet also maybe a little apprehensive about what might be next (like college after high school). The association, then, is with that duality.

Wildflowers are also ephemeral. They spring up in beauty, but don't pick them; they'll die almost instantly. You'll never see a bride with a bouquet of wildflowers; it just doesn't work that way. Wildflowers are part of the land, part of the earth; you have to leave them there and admire them as you walk through. And when spring is done?

The desert marigolds will be gone. Don't worry, though, you'll see them again next year, like clockwork, as the saying goes.

And soon you'll get to see the saguaro blossoms instead. You won't smell them in the air, perhaps, but seeing them is like seeing magic. The desert always has something new to show off.

Springtime in the Desert

I don't usually share many pictures. Springtime, however, is the time for pictures. Desert blooms only last for a short time, and so every day that they bloom is precious. At the Desert Botanical Garden, during this time of year, the paths are filled with amateur and advanced photographers alike trying to capture these blooms while they can. So I wanted to share some of my pictures (most are from a couple of weeks or so ago).

A yellow flower to start with.

These blossoming pink flowers remind me of bunched up roses. 

The boojum tree, which spends so much time bare, like a statuesque piece of modern art, here stands with all of its little green leaves.

A bright pink flower on a beavertail cactus.

Luminous gold and deep red on cholla.

The yellow-green of these gives them a papery look.

Palos verdes are beautiful green trees most of the year; in springtime, they are green trunks with branches filled with yellow flowers. When the flowers fall, they leave behind yellow carpets, like this one surrounding these little barrels. 

Not the best view, but you can just make out the red flower tips on the ocotillo. If you look closely, you can see that the green leaves were already starting to die when I took this picture. 

The saguaro blossoms aren't out yet, but now is a good time to share my favorite saguaro at the Desert Botanical Garden. He has his arms reaching upward in praise.

A cluster of yellow.

These also remind me of roses.

Flowers on the tree and fruits on the cholla cactus.

Again, no blooms here, but I just love the way these pointy cactus plants grow up and around the trees. It's like a dance or an embrace. 

And here is a quail in a tree, not running on the ground like you usually see them.

A purple wildflower grows right next to a purple prickly pear, whose own flowers aren't quite out yet.

Pink blooms in the tree, green fruit on the cactus.

Here the pink blooms stand above the cactus's yellow and orange blooms.

Such a bright orange red.

While the full flowers are beautiful, I also love the still-shut buds.

A nice little row.

These, once again, remind me of roses, or like a flower crown.

Springtime in the desert is a magical time.

The flower and the Cactus

To apologize for not having a picture before, I'm posting this one today that has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm talking about. Wait. . . what am I talking about?

Let's try a new strategy: connecting this picture to some book or other.

The flower doesn't have the best focus here (I know, I'm not a great photographer), but I love its contrast against the cactus pad. They contrast in looks, but they're actually quite similar. The flower is pretty, but small and insignificant. The cactus pad is larger, but uglier, especially given all the holes in its flesh. So they're on pretty equal ground. Like. . . Jane and Rochester! (Somebody should probably start thinking about reading more than just Charlotte Bronte.) Of course, Jane is plain rather than pretty, but I'm thinking of who she is instead of what she looks like. She's a kind, devoted, beautiful person, though very small in the world. Rochester, well, he is kind of ugly. But besides that, he's higher up. You can see his status, his power. Cactuses are powerful things, storing all that water (like Rochester's inherited money) to live off of for so long. Then they both have their strength. His is more inherent; hers she has to work for more to survive in the desert they're in.

Well, to say "desert" figuratively, of course. I personally adore physical deserts. The weather is so beautiful now that the sun is actually warm again. That's why I just had to go on a photo shoot of all the pretty greenery, including this pair.