One cannot think of spring in Texas without thinking of wildflowers: the two are nearly synonymous. The state owes a real debt of gratitude to the late Lady Bird Johnson, because it is she who embarked on a state wide beautification program and started the yearly tradition whereby the DOT goes all over the state and dumps no less than 3,000 pounds of wildflower seed all along the highways.  

Ratibida 'Mexican Hat'

The yearly tradition begins when bluebonnets start appearing in the middle of fields of grass. The beautiful blue flowers with little specks of white blanket fields everywhere: you can see them anywhere from empty fields where there are for sale signs, on farmland where cows graze among the bluebonnets or all along highways. The cities will join in and plant their own wildflowers too. It is almost like a competition. There is nothing that can signal spring in Texas the way a field of bluebonnets can; it's a traditional Texas welcome. After the bluebonnets have bloomed, there is a sequence of other wildflowers. Galliarda, Indian Paintbrush, Mexican Hats, coreopsis, a small flower that barely rises above the surface of the grass that we Texans call little buttercups, Black Foot Daisies, wild verbena and a host of others. From early March to about the middle or end of April, Texas highways and roads are covered with an array of colors that bloom sequentially. 

For the first two springs after my husband and I moved to Texas, we were deprived of this beautiful display. I later discovered that we were in the midst of a drought the likes of which the state hadn't seen in 25 plus years. It was awful. Then last winter, we got rain - and as welcome as the rain was, it brought big problems for some. The parched ground couldn't tolerate the constant rain that hit it, and there was a lot of flooding. But the rain was enough to bring out wildflowers for the first time in a good two years.

Here we are now at the beginning of March, and another winter is almost over and once again, we didn't have rain. I look out at the grass that's normally green in the winter.....The trees may be leafless but the bushes and ground usually retain their green. Because Texas winter and spring is notorious for high winds, things get especially dangerous when we haven't had rain. Such is the case now....We are under constant red alerts, burn bans and other warnings about wildfires. I saw the first evidence of bluebonnets peeking out of the ground a few days ago.....Although I know that the bluebonnets I had last year reseeded themselves, I don't see much evidence that I will have much of a display this year.

The heart of Texas wildflower country is known as the hill country. This is where the LBJ Ranch is located and where Wildseed Farms, the largest working wildflower farm in the United States is. Wildseed Farms grows their wildflowers to harvest seeds that they then sell.....But they also provide flower lovers with a breath taking view of acres and acres of wildflowers.

I have my doubts as to whether we'll have a beautiful display this year. If we don't, I'll feel a sense of sadness at having been deprived of one of Texas' greatest treasures.