You Grow Girlâ„¢

Mohave Desert Wildflowers
by John Mark Stewart
©1998 John Stewart Photography, Albuquerque.

When I went to Joshua Tree National Monument in 1998 for the spring bloom, it was just after an El Niño winter and I was expecting to see a lot of flowers. I planned to visit my dad in LA for a few days and checked a key to desert wildflowers out of our local library. My dad and I picked up his friends from a nearby golf resort and then we entered the park.

"What's that?"

I'd fumble with my key and, it being a key, I didn't really know what it was (how many ovules are in that flower we can see from the car?) and so I'd say doubtfully "a primrose?" Well, my father was wondering why the hell he brought his botanist daughter along if she couldn't even tell him what any of the plants were. I complained about my key (because, when all else fails, blame the equipment, never your abilities!). Luckily several rounds of "what's that?" "I don't know, a blah-blah?" occurred before we arrived at the Visitor Center. At this point my father said, "I'm buying you something so you can tell us what all these plants are." I picked out this book and I was able to identify every single plant we saw for the rest of the day, except one.

This field guide has gorgeous pictures and short descriptions of many commonly found flowers of the region. The pictures have most salient information portrayed so you can make distinctions between close relatives. The information is arranged by flower color, with a separate section for cactus, so you really don't even need a botanical clue to find your ID. The text helps by giving interesting details (amaze and impress your father and his friends!) about habitat and flowering frequency. At a single page per plant, it's a slim volume (half an inch thick) and is well sized for a patch (not slash) jacket pocket. Glossy paper makes it moisture-resistant. Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to getting other books by this photographer when the need arises. -EF