Last weekend I caught some Brittlebush flowers hanging out with a greened-up Ocotillo in Arizona’s Vulture Mountains. Here’s why these desert plants are showing off right now 👇 Indeed, early April is typically the sweet spot for Brittlebush blooms. As a perennial, Brittlebush don’t need to germinate every year, making them a reliable bloomer as long as it’s had an at least average winter rainfall season. Good rains are also required to green up the Ocotillo, which may sprout and lose its leaves multiple times per year, following the rhythm of the wet and dry seasons. Here in the Sonoran Desert, we just came out of our winter rainy season, hence the greenery and blooms. We’re entering Spring — our driest time of the year. And unless a rogue storm comes in off the Pacific and refreshes the soil with some h2O, the Ocotillo will soon lose their leaves. When our summer rainy season picks up — known as the Monsoon — the sporadic thunderstorms drench some areas of the desert, leaving other other areas bone dry. If this Ocotillo happens to catch 1 or 2 inches of precip from a Monsoon microburst, it may sprout leaves again in late summer, likely to lose them again come the dry weather of autumn. Then winter comes and the cold fronts and their nurturing showers start the cycle all over again.
@Jake_Case_Photo My favourite isthe Ocotillo in bloom. Always looked like it should be an under water plant
@Jake_Case_Photo The Brittlebush are an ocean of gold in our neighborhood right now!
@Jake_Case_Photo Delightful photo. I’m especially fond of flowering desert plants and grasses. 💛💛
@Jake_Case_Photo Mother Nature at her best. I love this shot, Jake. I'd love to shoot there sometime. Thanks for sharing.