Recently, my dad and I looked for wildflowers along Redington Road, which runs to the Northeast of Tucson over Redington Pass.

In June, at about the 4000 foot (1219 m) level along this dirt road, blooming Golden-flowered Agaves (Agave chrysantha) become common, as do blooming Shindaggers (Agave schottii), Arizona Rosewood (Vauquelinia californica), and Bear Grass (Nolina microcarpa).

These upland plants are common in the mountain foothills around Tucson, but they are not found in the lower elevations of Tucson itself because they need the little extra rain that these higher elevations bring.