GLOBETROTTERS MONTHLY CHALLENGE
Floral Beauty in the Desert
Because nowhere else create flowers such a spectacle
I’ve never seen the cherry blossoms in Japan or the Jacaranda trees in Joburg in full bloom. I never walked through the lavender fields of France’s backcountry or marveled at the tulips in the Netherlands.
But yes, I have seen a fair share of blooming beauties around the world. From rainforest flowers and underwater plants to desert lilies, I’ve seen a lot. And photographed even more.
I’m not going to share and talk about every single flower I’ve seen during my travels but I’ve got a few pictures and moments worth mentioning. After talking about green landscapes in last month’s challenge, in April we want to see a festival of colors.
And since I don't want to bore you with an endless long post, I decided to narrow down my choice to a desert country and all the flowers I've seen over the years living there.
Yes, I'm talking about Namibia. The country I called home for almost five years and which is still somehow home for me.
When I first arrived in Namibia I got transported into a long drought. But as someone who came from a lush green country like Germany, I wasn’t aware of the meaning of "drought" until much later.
I didn't see flowers until I adjusted to living in the desert. I had to get used to all the sand, dust and rocks. Once my eyes, ears and skin were used to the looks, sounds and feelings, only then I saw the dryness. The dryness of a desert during a drought.
And then only then, I was aware enough to see changes.
Blooming cacti in the desert (Spitzkoppe)
As I was going through my folders, I did not find any pictures of flowers in Namibia until late 2017, which is over two years after my first visit. As I said, it took a while for me to adjust to the new environment but it also took a while for the first rains.
While I had been multiple times to the rock formations of Spitzkoppe, I never saw flowers. Until that one year when we visited just about three to four weeks after some light rains.
The desert doesn't need much and that little bit of rain sufficed for the cacti to start blooming. What a magical moment to witness, isn't it?
Yellow beauties in the Kalahari
On another occasion, I was traveling with my mom through the southern part of the country and visited the savanna. The Kalahari is known for its red sand but we got to witness patches of yellow flowers sprouting right next to the roads.
These flowers are the first ones to appear after a light rain but be careful when approaching. The plants are full of thorns.
Spring in Swakopmund
The city of Swakopmund was my home for a few years but despite getting used to my life between the Atlantic Ocean and the Namib Desert, I loved seeing the landscape transform.
As a city located in the desert, Swakopmund had the advantage of desalination plants and made use of gray water to keep its gardens alive. And those gardens would burst into a festival of colors each spring.
Yes, right here, I did learn that even a city in the desert can experience seasons. Not in a way I knew them from Germany, but in a way where I could see differences in temperatures and colors in nature over the months.
When the riverbed comes alive
Living in this city, we would often escape to the riverbed with my friends, borrowing a car from someone. The dry riverbed was the playground to rock climb, make a bonfire or sleep under the stars.
With just a couple of kilometers to drive it was a short journey but always a great adventure.
Thinking back at the times I do remember the first time I spotted small plants shooting from the ground and then those flowers appearing on this new vegetation.
I was ecstatic.
On one of our trips to the river, a friend of mine pointed out a red blooming flower telling me this special one is called "south-west edelweiss".
The southwest is referring to the old name of Namibia when it used to be a German colony and was named "Deutsch-Südwestafrika". Edelweiss is a rare flower to be found in the Alps.
"The south-west edelweiss (Helichrysum roseo-niveum) is a typical Namib Desert plant, occurring from Angola in the north to the central Namib.
Helichrysum roseo-niveum is a delightful little herb, that grows mainly on plains, in dry riverbeds and along roadsides. There are some 26 species of this genus in Namibia." — Namibian.org
Desert lilies in the highlands and the dunes
Another special flower I’ve seen even later in life is the desert lily. I didn’t even live permanently in the country anymore when the 10-year drought was ended by the first decent rainy season in 2020. But in the following year, enough rain was coming down to bring old seeds back to life.
Fields of flowers were sprouting all across the country. While I had never seen desert lilies before, I saw them now every few kilometers as I was touring the country together with my husband.
Desert lilies were growing in between the rocks on the edge of the second-largest canyon in the world, the Fish River Canyon. They were growing in the flat meadows of the Khomas Hochland and were stretching across the sandy desert plains in between dunes.
It was something so unreal, I didn't even know it existed and then I saw it in abundance. Too beautiful to describe, I hardly managed to capture the beauty in pictures.
When the river comes down
While the first flowers appeared from rains in the desert, later heavy downpours in the mountains caused the dry riverbeds to flood and flow. Once the water stopped running, a wet and soaked soil rich in nutrients and seeds stayed behind.
The perfect conditions for desert plants to grow and bloom.
Especially those tough succulents would sprout from everywhere turning sandy and dusty landscapes into lush green heavens.
A field of flowers
While all these situations and moments of floral beauty in Namibia were unique and special, there is one other experience I will always keep bringing up as it was so different, it changed my view on desert life entirely.
Still, before I spotted the south-west edelweiss and desert lilies and before I ever saw the Swakop River in flood, I went on a road trip with a friend of mine visiting from Germany.
We went rock climbing, did a self-drive safari and were on our way to the Naukluft mountains for a hiking adventure when we drove through what seemed to be a paradise.
We didn't just see antelopes on the right and the left side of the road, we passed giraffes and ostriches and slowly but surely the dry and dusty desert landscapes turned green.
The terrain I knew as barren was all of a sudden alive. A lush green meadow was stretching to the horizon. Butterflies were dancing between flowers and birds were singing in the trees.
We stopped the car when we approached this field of flowers. First, we just quickly wanted to take some pictures but as soon as I walked into the meadow, I knew I wanted to stay longer, walked back and switched off the car.
This specific spot was covered in mostly purple and yellow flowers. The dry and sandy soil was almost entirely covered in green grass and plants. We walked a few meters into the field and sat down.
I could smell wild thyme. I still smell thyme in my nose thinking of that moment. We just sat there, listened and took in the views. No words were needed and exchanged.
Only later, once we got up, we saw the carcass of a zebra. This brought such a different light onto the scene but also showed how everything is connected. One life ends while another begins.
The zebra certainly died before the first rains as one could see how the plants and flowers were growing out and around the bones and fur. We were quiet for a moment walking around the carcass thinking of the lost life of this animal.
Just before lifting our eyes again thinking of all the other wildlife enjoying the abundance of food all of a sudden.
Yes, when we talk about floral beauty around the world, this is the exact moment that comes to my mind. A moment I will never experience again simply because it was a first.
This was a writing prompt for Globetrotter’s April challenge. This month, we’re looking for spring stories from around the world. Michele Maize has created the introduction post for you to get inspired:
And to be honest I’m quite curious about the submissions of American writers living in or near the desert as Michael Rhodes wrote just a few weeks ago about a potential superbloom coming up. If you’re in the area, don’t forget your camera and share a story or two with us, please.
Another writer also wrote about flowers abroad in the past. Osan Fernando takes you to Japan.
"The summer flowers of the park welcomed me with open arms. Even the sky was so caring, with no blazing sun or drizzle to dampen my day." - Osan Fernando
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