The Cedars, just west of Roosevelt, Utah, look desolate from a distance, but look more closely and you'll find...
The earliest lupine in full bloom,
Indian paintbrush,
Silvery townsendia,
Death camas (the name sounds bad, and they are poisonous, but they look pretty), 
and a variety of yellow,
purple (some variety of milkvetch?),
and tiny white flowers dotting the landscape.Always, we find something new.
Don't be fooled into thinking there is nothing to see but the sand and rocks. Look again. Hidden treasure lies here.
The Indian Paintbrush is my favorite desert flower from among those you're featuring ... so artistically exquisite and majestic! Love your introductory desert landscape in all its vast grandeur as well. Just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJanie...Indian paintbrush is also my all time favorite...great photos...so love having you back...
ReplyDeletefirst iamge is so dreamy.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that's why I love living in the desert.
ReplyDeleteI love finding the secret life living in the desert.
ReplyDeleteHi Janie, What a nice hike you took us on. I love seeing the wild flowers in the desert... SO gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteWe had Indian Paintbrush along with Texas Bluebonnets and Evening Primrose when I lived in Texas.
Thanks for taking us on your hike with you.
Hugs,
Betsy
Wow, you know what to look for. Very colorful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful wildflowers! It's amazing, what blooms in the desert. I love the Lupine.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful desert terrain with lovely flowers.
ReplyDeleteA desert full of beautiful flowers!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful desert and captures Janie.
ReplyDeleteRegards and enjoy your weekend.
So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDid you know that until just the last few years they couldn't figure out how to propagate Indian Paint Brush in a nursery setting? It would never work. Finally, a smart nurseryman figured out that you have to grow it with a host plant (usually a grass like Grama) and then it can be used in the landscape industry. I hope to grow it in my yard at some point but I bet it's a little touchy outside of it's preferred area.
Hi Janie, firstly I am glad to see you back. I love the desert. It is really a special environment. I love the wild flowers, you did so well taking their pictures. There is such a great variety. They are all gorgeous but the paintbrush is stunning. Just wonderful. I have been to the Australian desert in September. I think we might fly into Western Australia when the wild flowers bloom in the desert.
ReplyDeleteI sometime forget how beautiful the desert can be, especially in the springtime.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the wonderful view of your journey, Janie.
It's almost as if the plants sense that they cannot compete with the grandeur and vastness of the desert and so remain fairly inconspicuous. (I know - sentimental rubbish!)
ReplyDeleteJanie, I learned this when living in Arizona...if you open your eyes big enough, you will see all the glorious color!!! I love the desert!
ReplyDeleteAlthough dry and somewhat barren, the desert has a beauty of its own. The flowers are a surprise bonus. Beautiful captures, Janie.
ReplyDeleteJanie, this is so similar to the Western part of South Africa and of the Namib desert. I suspect if we go into the Nubian desert beyond Khartoum now that it's spring, we will encounter beauty like this. Have a beautiful weekend.
ReplyDeleteI love the desert flowers, they are so beautiful, esp the Indian Paintbrush.
ReplyDeleteI had a lupine once, in my Ohio backyard, and it did well, until I tried to divide it one year. Whoops. No more lupine. :-( My bad.
Thanks for sharing these hidden treasures with us. The blossoms and plants are beautiful. Your last picture is spectacular.
ReplyDeletereally great blog Janie. I have been through some of your country but mainly on the way to the San Rafael or further south. Being an artist and naturalist by education I love what you are portraying.
ReplyDeleteWill be looking in again.
Yes, Janie - this is what we noticed driving through western CO and Ut this week - up close there was lots of color! Welcome spring!
ReplyDeleteThe desert does bloom! Great pictures.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers, sky, and desert! I am always mystified by those who say there is no color in the desert.
ReplyDelete