"The cacti are probably in bloom around now," my friend said. And until then, it had never really occurred to me to go to the Ethel M. Chocolates Factory Cactus Garden in Henderson, Nevada during the day.
After all, it's so magical at night during the holiday season. What else could there be?
But after taking a morning bus tour of Henderson and an afternoon walking tour of the Hoover Dam, I was looking for a little zen on my way back to Vegas.
It was a funny thing, looking for blooms under such gloom. It had already started sprinkling as I was leaving Boulder City—and I had the sense that a storm might be following me.
But the blue palo verde trees were busting out all over, in the heat of late spring...
...so, rain be damned, it was time for a succulent stroll.
I remembered going on a hike once in Joshua Tree National Park and getting some great photos of a flowering creosote bush against a gray sky—so I fired up my flash and started shooting.
The Baja fairy dusters were standing at attention, not yet defeated by the lack of sunshine...
...but they looked as though they could buckle under the pressure of just a few drops of rain, so I sped up to try to see everything before it got soaked.
There was no quiet before the storm—because the songbirds were chirping and the hummingbirds were pipping, with one hovering right in front of my face to give me a good once-over before it flew back to its perch.
The chocolate factory's gardens also contain some ornamental flowers, like the red tecoma—which helps guarantee there will be something floral to look at even when the cacti aren't sprouting.
Besides, cactuses don't always open up for just anybody.
They're all spikes and spines one day...
...and then the next, seemingly just for a moment, they blossom.
The next day, that splash of color can be gone again, and only the prickles remain.
There are a few paths to take through the garden, like the Prickly Pear Parkway, Agave Alley, and Classic Cove...
...but it's really impossible to get lost.
If you do get turned around, just look for the saguaro skeletons standing watch like a sentinel, a reminder of all that is fleeting and mortal. They are the constant in the ever-changing landscape of a flourishing garden.
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