Over the past three weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to head out to the Hill Country a few times to see the beautiful Texas wildflowers blanketing fields and roadside edges in color this spring. They have been a most welcome sight, as last year the drought meant there were almost no springtime wildflowers at all. Thank goodness for the little bit of rain we’ve had.
Take a walk on the wild(flower) side with me…
Indian Paintbrush
Blackfoot Daisy
Firewheel, or Indian Blanket
Prairie Fleabane
Texas Bluebonnets, our official state flower, with Prickly Pear, our official state plant
Mexican Hat
Missouri Evening-Primrose
Prairie Verbena and Coreopsis
Damianita
Coreopsis
Texas is beautiful all around, but never more so than in the spring!
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End note: Our state is having a terrible time with an invasive plant called Bastard Cabbage, or common giant mustard (Rapistrum rugosum). I had to drive quite a distance to find pristine pockets of wildflowers in the Hill Country, for vast areas have become covered with this awful plant, which originated in the Mediterranean and thrives in the same places and soil our wildflowers do. But then it takes over with its long tap roots, large size, and prolific seeds. I opted not to show a picture of the Bastard Cabbage (my son calls it “Bad Word” cabbage) so as not to taint my post with its presence. I’m mentioning it only because I worry about the trouble our wildflowers are having!
Beautiful images, Meredith! Reminds me of the wildflower show of a couple of years ago, before the drought.
Pam, thank you! I so wanted to take a lot of wildflower pictures two years ago, but I missed the window on the most spectacular displays. It’s been a long wait! Even now, though, the fields weren’t quite as full as I’d hoped. And that dastardly Bastard Cabbage — ugh!
Just glorious. We saw similar scenes driving back from Fort Stockton but we were in too big a hurry to stop. Where did you spy the damianita?
Caroline, it was along Hwy 1431 heading toward Lago Vista from 183. It seems to be naturally useful as erosion control, as it is growing along much of the cut rock along the highway.
How absolutely beautiful! That is so sad that invasive plants are taking over such places.
These are just beautiful! I wanted to post which shot I loved most, but couldn’t decide.
Okay, the first one — the prickly pear with bluebonnets. Love it!
Meredith,
You have out done yourself, these are stunning photos. Wish I could have been there myself, these photos make it like almost being there.
Indie, it’s particularly sad because of the effort that Texas, Lady Bird Johnson, and different groups have put into beautifying our Texas roadside spaces, and now one plant is wiping them out.
Thanks, Alan — that’s one of my favorites, too — very classic image of Texas.
Randy, thanks — I accumulated them over several trips for other events, so I’m glad I had an assortment to post! Most were taken in the Hill Country area north of Austin.