During winter in the desert, talk often turns to the chance of rain in the forecast.  Will it cause flash flooding?  Will it be enough to bring some relief to the California drought?  But often the talk revolves around what effect the rains will have on the wildflower bloom in the Spring.

A little bit of rain will bring on wildflowers a month or two later.  Enough rain and the right conditions could bring on a spectacular bloom.  So every year people anxiously await to see what Spring will bring.

The area around the Coachella Valley certainly didn’t yield a super bloom like was being portrayed in Death Valley this year, but the blooms were pretty spectacular never-the-less.

A couple of weeks ago I spent two days photographing flowers.  The first day was at the Whitewater Preserve at the eastern end of the valley. Several of us hiked the Canyon View trail and encountered a nice array of blooms.  Not being an expert on wildflowers, I won’t attempt to name them.  Just click on any of the images below to open up a slideshow.

The next day, my photographer friends and I were off to Borrego Springs to check out the blooms in the Anza Borrego Desert.  I would have to say that this day was more spectacular than our hike at Whitewater.  Again, just click on any photo to open up the gallery.

It is surprising that anything can thrive in the harsh environment of the desert.  That plants thrive and produce such spectacular blooms it truly amazing.  I think that is why the excitement and anticipation of each year’s bloom is so high.