I’m heading to the Hemet/Palm Springs area, to meet my folks, in pursuit of wildflowers. We plan to spend most of our time on the desert near Palm Springs, and Anza-Borrego. This has become an annual event in the last several years. We enjoy being together, expanding our plant identification skills, and exploring the desert terrain and flora.
In preparation, I’ve downloaded a Palm Springs app to my Android, and pulled out my plant books to get the low down on the desert. According to Sunset's The Western Garden Book, we’ll be in climate zone 13, which is a low or subtropical desert area. Subtropical plants—such as date palms, grapefruit, bauhinia, beaumontia, many cassias, and thevetia—can grow in the low desert. Plus many native species. Yearly temperatures range from 108 to 37 degrees mean, with 5 inches of annual rain.
One fascinating thing I’ve learned is how much water is actually available in this desert. Water wells up from earth faults and fissures, causing vernal pools and streams running through palm canyons. Spring rains also bring the desert alive with color. Some plants, which typically look like dead sticks, turn green with beautiful blossoms for a brief season! This is much different from the San Francisco Bay Area, but the water saving strategies used by desert plants are just as fascinating.
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| From last year, a running stream through the Tahquitz Canyon reservation. Palm Springs and the valley floor is in the background. |
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| Blossoming Yucca in White Water Canyon. Last year the stream was still running in April. |
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| Vibrant flowers on the prickly Englemann Hedgehog cactus in Joshua Tree National Park. |
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| Tiptoeing through the Cholla near sundown. The desert colors are especially rich in morning and evening. |
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