SW U.S./Hawaii Travel

When is the best time to visit Arizona? Thousands of snowbirds flock here every winter, but they head back north in March, just when things start getting really good. Those who stick around know that springtime is the best time in southern Arizona.

In late March/early April, buds start appearing on the ocotillo and palo verde trees along the arroyo. House finches, cactus wrens and mourning doves disappear under our rafters with twigs in their beaks.

Now it's all come to lovely fruition. It's amazing to see the desert, so dry and brown for much of the year, bursting forth with color. Plants which are formidably untouchable due to their sharp spines suddenly bloom with bright, delicate flowers.

My favorite are the Santa Rita prickly pear cactuses. Their large pads turn deep purple in winter, a lovely background for their bright yellow spring flowers. Our barrel cactus is topped with a concentric ring of yellow buds and our teddy bear chollas have pink and yellow blossoms at the ends of their spindly arms.

The aloe vera plants are losing their pinkish winter coat as tall stems with pale orange flowers sprout from their center. The bright yellow leaves of the palo verde trees are stunning against the deep blue sky. Birds cling to the deep orange blossoms at the ends of the ocotillo. This week we even saw flowers on the massive arms of the saguaros.

Gambols quail are digging up our garden, looking for nesting sites. House finches serenade us with the sweetest songs, or scold us if we walk too near their nests. We spend hours in hidden wonder watching baby cactus wrens and mourning doves learning to fly.

Wildflowers are blooming all over the desert and mountains. Springtime is the best time to visit Arizona.

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