Ep 11. And the Desert Shall Blossom

And the Desert Shall Blossom is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The episode is directed by Don Weis and written by Robert C. Dennis.

The story follows a man named Arthur Fennimore who has been lost in the desert for six days without food or water. He is on the verge of collapsing when he comes across a deserted gas station. As he desperately searches for water, he stumbles upon a strange plant that appears to be thriving in the midst of the barren wasteland. Fennimore is astounded by the plant's beauty and decides to take a closer look.

The plant turns out to be a rare and valuable variety of rose that is said to grow only in the most inhospitable environments. Fennimore realizes that he has discovered something remarkable and decides to take the plant back home with him. However, he soon discovers that the plant requires a very particular set of growing conditions, and he struggles to keep it alive.

Fennimore is convinced that the plant is worth a small fortune and decides to enter it into a flower exhibition. However, his lack of horticultural knowledge becomes a problem, and he fails to take proper care of the plant in the run-up to the exhibition. When the day of the exhibition arrives, Fennimore is devastated to discover that his plant has wilted and is unlikely to impress the judges.

Desperate to salvage his reputation and show off his prized possession, Fennimore resorts to desperate measures. He decides to bring a newly blossomed flower to the exhibition, replacing it on the plant just before the judges' inspection. To his dismay, the judges easily recognize the fraud and disqualify him from the competition.

Humiliated and defeated, Fennimore returns home to find that his treasured plant has perished under his neglect. He realizes too late that it was not the plant itself that was valuable, but the plant's ability to survive and grow in even the harshest of environments - a lesson that he could have applied to his own life.

And the Desert Shall Blossom is a cautionary tale about greed and the dangers of exploiting natural resources for financial gain. Despite his initial awe at the plant's beauty, Fennimore's obsession with its market value ultimately leads to his downfall. The episode is a poignant reminder that wealth and success do not always come at a sustainable cost.