From a distance, the desert looked ordinary. Under a balmy blue sky, the hills were dressed in shades of brown, dotted with knobby cacti and wild tassles of ocatillo. If you came to Anza Borrego hoping to see spring wildflowers – as my friend and I did – you might first feel disappointed. But if you left the car and walked down any hill, or up any wash, suddenly a riot of color would appear. Up close, the flowers mingled in brilliant swathes of red, yellow, purple. Hummingbirds and bumblebees rummaged among their petals. A gardener couldn’t have designed better pairings of rock, flower, bush and cactus; there was a new composition at every turn.
