After the cold and moist winter passes, a time of birth and rejuvenation occurs. Spring brings
warm weather to melt the snow and awaken life which has laid dormant through the harsh winter months.
In the desert, Spring can spawn from it's dry sands an event so spectacular and colorful that you forget about its harsh unforgiving nature. It is called the wildflower season, an uprising of annuals and a short period when the perennials show their brilliant colors.
Wildflowers occur in the mountains, grasslands, wetlands and in deserts, but the characteristics of each environment evoke different emotions. The desert is known for its sparse, dry terrain, which receives little rain and extremely high temperatures. Normally, the desert is painted with browns, mauves, pastels greens and grays. But during the Spring,the dull desert palette becomes filled with new brilliant shades of blue, magenta, yellow, white and red.
When Will The Wildflowers Bloom?
Although it is an annual event, the wildflower season is never the same from one year to the next. Weather conditions play an integral role in the outcome of each wildflower season. If the winter has too 
much or little rain, or if the temperature is too warm or cold, the seeds of desert annuals will remain dormant or bloom in fewer numbers. Only when the conditions are near-perfect will you witness a spectacular wildflower showing, a time when an abundance of aromatic colors fill each landscape with a breathtaking effect.
Due to the unusual weather conditions, experts are predicting that the 2001 wildflower season may be above average. A decade may pass with less than fruitful wildflower displays, but when the conditions are just right, the wildflowers fill the landscapes in a phenomenal riot of color.
It is difficult to pinpoint the best time to visit the desert during the spring wildflower season, which generally occurs from; late February through June. But rest assured, no matter when you visit the desert, there are always plants in bloom. I have seen Mojave Aster, Banana Yucca, Creosote, Brittlebush, Primrose, Lupine and a few other common wildflowers in bloom. The recent rain and warm weather has spurred an early bloom for some plant species.
What To Expect
A few years ago, I traveled to the desert to experience the wildflower season for the first time. As my car descended into Borrego Valley, I expected to see fields of flowers and color so stunning I would have to stop and take it all in. I was disappointed when I rounded the corner to discover the desert looked dry and brown as it always did.
It became evident that a quick stop at the park visitors center might provide the information we needed to find these famous desert wildflowers. I purchased a wildflower brochure, park map, and few other books and headed out into the desert.
There were a few other cars parked off to the side of the dirt road where the map indicated a wildflower viewing area. My friends and I pulled off the road and parked. I scanned the area for patches of abundant color, but I saw nothing but browns and dusty greens on a backdrop of sand. Off in the distance, I saw a few people squatted down on the ground as if they had discovered something of great interest. When they passed by a few minutes later, I asked them "What did you find out there?" They replied, " We were trying to identify a wildflower, we think it was a Brown-eyed Evening Primrose."
I traced their footprints back to the location where they had found the wildflower and looked closely at the ground. Surrounded by hand, knee and shoe impressions I discovered a small wildflower blowing in the breeze. It was only four or five inches tall and had multiple yellowish bell shaped flowers with brown spots.
After I took a few snapshots of the Brown-eyed Evening Primrose, I wandered around the vicinity and discovered many other beautiful wildflowers. They were sparse, but each was a delicate work of art. Some were lone plants, others grew in bunches, but each was unique and amazing in its own way.
With the brochures and maps I had purchased earlier in the day, I was able to identify quite a few of the wildflowers, which made the whole experience more significant. After taking a number of pictures, my friends and I decided to head to another wildflower area to see if we could find some cactus in bloom.
As we drove, I kept an eye on the roadside flora. A flash of magenta caught my eye, and I signaled by friend to stop the car and back-up. I jumped out and ran a few feet from the road to discover a Beavertail Cactus in full-bloom. Its magenta flowers were magnificent and so brilliant against the soft and unobtrusive desert landscape.
I took numerous pictures of the Beavertail in bloom and saw a few other similar cactus as we continued down the road. When we reached the next view spot, I discovered many new wildflowers that had not been present at the previous location. Fiddleneck, Spanish Needles, Southwestern Thorn Apple (Datura), white Popcorn Flowers, yellow Sunflowers and Wooly Daisies.
The trip was well worth it, and I learned what the desert wildflower season was all about. It is not about abundance, but delicate beauty, which shows itself in some of the driest and most unpredictable places. Every so often, a spectacular season will occur and fields of wildflowers will cover the desert landscapes. Each season yields a different variety and abundance, but each can be enjoyed just the same.
Best Places To View The Spring Show
The wildflower variety will vary between deserts and regions. The Sonoran Desert has one of the largest varieties of plant and animal life which makes it an excellent desert to view the wildflower show.
If you are in California, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park or Joshua Tree National Park occur within the Sonoran Desert and are both excellent locations to visit during the spring finale. Death Valley National Park, which is located in the Mojave Desert, is another area where wildflowers are abundant. Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve near Lancaster is an excellent location to view a golden sea of moving Poppies.
Arizona hosts some of the best wildflower shows in the U.S. Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park are two Arizona parks well-known for their fantastic and abundant wildflower species. If you have a day to drive down the Apache Trail on historic route 88, you will be well-rewarded by some of the most amazing vistas and landscapes filled with dark lava rock, saguaros, cholla and numerous wildflowers.
An large population of Chihuhuan Desert flora can be found at Carlsbad Caverns National Park located in New Mexico. White Sands National Monument, also located in New Mexico, is a unique location to capture images of the colorful flowers as they bloom against the backdrop of white gypsum sand dunes. Big Bend National Park in southwestern Texas is yet another location which demonstrates flora common to the Chihuhuan Desert region.
You have to make some effort to discover some of the more unique desert beauties; they are not always in easy to find locations. Along the roadsides you will find many wildflowers, but off the beaten track you can find some of the most spectacular landscapes and desert blooms.
Click here for a quickTime VR of the flowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park taken February 3, 2001
Where To Get Information About The Wildflower Season
DesertUSA will provide you with the most current and up-to-date information about the wildflower season. We will post weekly wildflower updates on our Web site and send out e-mail bulletins to list subscribers. The February, March and April issues of DesertUSA Magazine will cover topics related to the wildflower season, so check back again soon. In addition, we will display a list of phone numbers to Wildflower Hotlines for various regions.
