Nighttime in the Desert

We saw some intriguing and beautiful flowers in the Utah desert. It was a wetter spring than most recent years so the colors were incredible, like in this cactus bloom!

The intriguing flowers were part of the "Four O'Clock Family", which includes flowers that close during the day to preserve moisture and open at night. Here was one example. It looked like a cluster of little white balls during the day.

As the sun was setting...

... and I was taking sunset photos of Shyla...

 ... the little balls were opening up so that they could be pollinated by Sphinx Moths. The blossoms were gorgeous, especially with the dark background. It was hard to believe that this was the same plant as I'd seen during the day!

Another flower in that family was called the "Showy Four O'Clock Flower". It was closed during the heat of the day. This photo was just as it was closing in the morning.

Then, around sunset, the "showy" blossoms opened in all their glory!

It's a flower that needs lots of rain to flourish so we haven't seen it in recent years.

So, on those moonlit nights when the stars spun around the North Star, flowers were blooming under the incredible desert sky.

I found the Four O'Clock flowers to be gloriously beautiful and fascinating!!! What a cool trick for surviving in the dry and hot climate of the desert!



Today, I am joining Dory's Flower Blog Hop!