Deserts are often considered wastelands, vast areas of little worth. In most years the casual traveller speeds through them and sees little to dispute this notion. In reality, desert lands are full of life that is just waiting for the right moment to burst forth. This moment may only come every quarter or half century, but when it does the desert's veil of drabness is lifted and a spectacular world of color and life is revealed.

Spring of 2005 was one of those extraordinary moments. 'Season of the Sand Blossoms' is a tribute to the Southwest deserts, from the purple sage of the Great Basin to the towering Saguaro Cacti of the Sonoran desert, to the countless yellow-rayed blossoms of 'Desert Gold' in Death Valley. It is also the first part of a three part project meant to demonstrate the hidden values of the desert, and encourage understanding and preservation of these little-loved lands.

The film includes the varied perspectives of scientists and a Native American tradition keeper. They examine how desert plants can survive decades of drought, and still know when to flower. The story traces the relationships between flowers, insects, birds and mammals, and a web of life that reaches far beyond the desert. The role of wildflowers in the lives and traditions of Native Americans is featured.

"Desert Gold" is about the need to understand, appreciate, and preserve fragile lands whose treasures often go unseen and unappreciated, and on which we depend in surprising ways