So imagine a centuries-old, fully mature saguaro, Cereus giganteus , standing like an elder statesman in the Arizona landscape, a star of the Sonoran Desert. Suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, youngsters appear. U.S. Highway 60 east of suburbia, golden poppies and salmon-colored mallow blaze on hills. Bluebells and pink penstemon shimmery along the highway. Brittlebush bares all, blushing yellow in all directions.
Cars pull off and passengers pile out, tramping through roadside bouquets.
I'm not much of a wildflower guy. After a late Friday flight from Los Angeles to Sky Harbor International Airport, the weekend began in earnest Saturday at the Desert Botanical Garden on the east side of Phoenix. Not sure where to start, I latched onto a tour group led by volunteer Barbara Long. Barbara told us to look beyond the showy spring blooms to see desert ingenuity at work. See past the brittlebush's yellow flowers, she said, and you'll find grayish-green leaves that naturally reflect the desert sun.