It is only natural to think that deserts are dry and barren, but there are times when they are full of beauty. Desert plants and trees all bloom, mostly in the spring, and many have beautiful flowers.
One of these desert plants is the agave, or century plant, with long bayonet-like leaves. Its ten-foot flower stalk is capped with beautiful white flowers. Another one, the ocotillo or candlewood, has beautiful scarlet or salmon flowers for a short time each year. From a distance these look like bright flames on the ends of many of its tall stems. Joshua trees add their beauty, bursting into bloom in the spring with creamy white flowers.
The Mohave mound cactus, close to the ground, is covered with large scarlet flowers from April to June. At the same time, the desert mariposa displays large, bright-red flowers, perhaps growing amidst a golden-yellow carpet of dandelions. Others include the Saguaro tree, which grows 50 feet high. During May, it displays lovely creamy blossoms with yellow centers clustered at the end of its branches.
Then there is the sand-loving phlox with its small, pretty, reddish-pink flowers, as well the hedgehog cactus. Its prickly stems stand out with many petaled, brilliant, four-inch red flowers with yellow centers. Yet another beauty is the fish-hook barrel plant with tiny reddish flowers overlooking the peculiar hook-like leaves, for which the plant is named. The ball cactus flower, one of the prettiest, has waxy yellow petals coming out of a pretty orange and red center.
If we had more space, there are many other desert beauties we could list, but perhaps these few will paint a picture in your mind of how outstanding desert lands can be in spring.
In a time that is coming, after the Lord Jesus has taken to heaven those who have accepted Him as their Savior and after He has judged those who have rejected Him, He will change the earth into a place of peace and people thankful for God’s blessings. The Bible tells us that during that time the deserts will be places of exceptional beauty. The prophet Isaiah has written, “The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing” (Isaiah 35:1-21The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. 2It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. (Isaiah 35:1‑2)).
Will you be included with those in heaven who know the Lord Jesus as their Savior and look down on the new, beautiful deserts?
ML-12/03/2017