Ya, the contrast is over the top. Just playing around with parametric masks in Darktable. Trying to see how far I could push it. (Phacelia campanularia, desert bluebell.)
One of my favorite wildflowers is Castilleja angustifolia (desert paintbrush). They brighten up the desert wonderfully! It is a semi-parasite plant usually robbing nutrients from grasses that it grows with. The flowers are actually the green-yellow tubes. The bright red part are bracts.
A couple of years ago I created an art series in which I painted 1 color/day of something from nature I saw in/from my yard including trees, wildflowers, cacti, animals, birds, insects, reptiles, skies & clouds. April is especially colorful in Tucson!