Exploring Around Santa Fe: April wildflowers in SE Arizon

Introduction

As so often happens, when I first moved to Santa Fe, fifteen years ago, I fell in love with the dramatic landscape and ancient history of human habitation. I'd like to share some of the places I've discovered. Here I will post a series of journeys I've made to discover this place. What I learn from the land finds its way into my paintings and my garden designs. I hope you will enjoy the rugged beauty of this raw land, and perhaps be inspired to step onto the less-traveled paths that lead into the wild.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

April wildflowers in SE Arizon

Here is the next installment in my saga of our journey to see the spring desert bloom after our unusually wet winter.

I've decided to continue with the wildflowers, which means skipping ahead a bit, but might as well do it while all the plant ID books are on my desk! I'll get back to showing you the amazing Chiracahua Mountains later. As we drove into Southeastern Arizona, the spring show increased. The date of the photos in this blog was April 12, 2010.

Dessert Hyacinth (Dichelostemma pulchellum) also goes by the rather unfortunate name of Blue Dicks. I had wondered if these might be an allium, but a quick sniff revealed no oniony odor. I hate to pick wildflowers, but these were abundant in the spot we stopped, and the wind was blowing too strongly to allow a decent photo. What a lovely flower! I don't think it would do in Santa Fe, as it is supposed to be hardy to only 6000'. The bulb was used as a food by the native people.

Heading north on 191 after leaving Wilcox we began to encounter the most spectacular displays. Parry's penstamens were so abundant that we wondered if the highway department had seeded them!