When late March arrives, I start looking for bluebonnets. Where I live in Abilene, we don’t get the dramatic fields of flowers that you see in the Hill Country. Our bluebonnets come later in the spring and are harder to find, but you’ll hear me cry, “Bluebonnets!” and point out the car window whenever I happen to drive past a patch. In fact, last week I did precisely that when in the car with my daughter, and she commented that seeing bluebonnets makes her feel like she should pull over and pose. I wonder why? Surely not because her mama was always getting her kids in the bluebonnets for photo ops.
As the state flower of Texas, bluebonnets are as iconic as longhorns and the lone star flag. I thought you might enjoy some quick facts about these beautiful wildflowers.
1. The bluebonnet was named the Texas state flower in 1901, but it was a contested race. The cotton boll and prickly pear cactus bloom were also in the running. In the end, however, the bluebonnet prevailed, and I’m so glad it did!
2. The bluebonnet is a variety of lupine that grows only in Texas.
3. Some believe it got its name because the individual buds resemble a lady’s sunbonnet.
4. It is also been known by the names Buffalo Clover and Wolf Flower.
5. Blue is the most prevalent color, but on rare occasions this flower can also be seen in white and pink.
6. Legend has it that you will only find pink bluebonnets near San Antonio. The story goes that the flowers were originally white, but changed to pink when the river ran red with the blood spilled at the Alamo.
7. Texas was the first state to plant flowers along state highways. The Texas Highway Department was organized in 1917, and officials quickly noted the abundance of wildflowers along the roadsides. In 1932, they hired a landscape architect to maintain, preserve, and nurture these wildflowers. In 1934, the department outlawed all mowing during spring and summer wildflower season unless required for safety purposes. In addition, the Texas Highway Department purchases and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds each year!
8. Ennis is known as the Official Bluebonnet City of Texas. Up to 100,000 people visit the small town each year to travel the scenic 40 miles of the Official Texas Bluebonnet Trail. The trail changes each year depending on where the best growth is found.
9. Bluebonnets are toxic. Don’t eat them!
10. Historian Jack Maguire once said that the bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland.
What wildflowers grow in your area?
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When I visited my aunt in Abilene in 2020 I never saw any bluebonnets. I did hear about them when I stayed a few days with my sister-in-law’s sister in Canyon Lake, but never saw any around her area or when we drove to Houston. Have a blessed Good Friday.
There are a few places I know to look. There are usually some out by the airport, and there are a couple patches along the highways, but you are right, there are not many bluebonnets in our area. And they don’t last long. Ours are already fading. I guess I appreciate them even more for their rarity, though I do miss seeing fields filled with them.
I live in Ennis, Texas! Looking out my kitchen window I see the most beautiful patch of bluebonnets and when you walk by them it smells like a florist. Heavenly!
And, our church book club read Fairest of Heart this month❤️ I love all of your books!
How wonderful, Vickie! I think I would spend a lot more time in my kitchen if I had your view. Ha! So glad you shared Fairest of Heart with your church book club. That makes me smile. 🙂
According to Gemini AI, Southwestern Idaho boasts a variety of wildflowers (I could have named a few but not all of them):
• Syringa (Mock Orange): Idaho’s state flower, known for its fragrant white blossoms.
• Camas Lilies: These bulbous flowers create vast “seas of blue” in high meadows.
• Indian Paintbrush: Characterized by its bright red bracts that hide smaller, inconspicuous flowers.
• Elkhorn Clarkia: This flower is known for its delicate beauty.
• Arrowleaf Balsamroot: A member of the sunflower family, it blooms in early spring and is common in the foothills.
• Idaho Trillium: This delicate flower is known for its three petals.
• Dwarf Monkeyflower: A charming wildflower with small, yellow flowers.
• Lupine: Often found in association with sagebrush, lupine provides a vibrant splash of purple or blue to the landscape.
• Golden Currant: This plant is known for its bright yellow flowers and berries.
• Grass Widow: A small, delicate wildflower with bright yellow flowers.
Nice! We have Indian Paintbrush in Texas too. In fact, it often grows with the bluebonnets.
Thank you for the beautiful pictures and interesting information about the Texas Bluebonnets. It’s amazing how many wildflowers there are.
In Virginia we have Eastern red columbine, several types of violets, Jack in the pulpit, Jacob’s Ladder, and dwarf larkspur, to name a few. Except for the first one, the ones I chose to list are purple, my favorite color.
Purple is my favorite color too! Sometimes the really dark bluebonnets look a little purple, which I love.
Karen, I sense a new prairie series coming on. The Bonnie Bluebonnnets, a series about sisters.
We could have fun alliteration with that, Sylvia. 🙂
I love our Texas bluebonnets! There is a field in bloom near my house and even though it is a bit out of my way to most places, I drive by it every time I can because it makes me smile. We always did bluebonnet pictures with our kids, but since my daughter-in-law isn’t from Texas, she doesn’t make the effort to do those pics with my grandkids. Sigh. One of these days I’ll get them there!
I love that you have a field nearby to enjoy, D’Ann. I’d be driving that way all the time, too. And I have no doubt that you’ll find a way to get those grandbabies into some bluebonnets one of these days. 😉
Loved these photos, Karen! Ken and I were in the Hill Country 2 years ago at the height of bluebonnet season. I’d never seen them in person before! Gorgeous, especially where they were blooming alongside Indian Paintbrush. I might love that flower even more than the bluebonnets, but together, they are STUNNING!
As for wildflowers, I’m a Kansas farmer’s daughter so give me sunflowers any day! But I also love the purple dame’s rocket that grows wild in both Kansas and Southeast Missouri, where I’ve been transplanted. It doesn’t come up every year, but when it does, it’s magical!
Those sunflowers are so stately and just just plan happy. It’s impossible not to smile when you see them. We have smaller sunflowers that grow wild around here, and even those make me grin. 🙂
Fascinating! I learned several things about the bluebonnet that I didn’t know before in this post. 🙂 Like you, I love our spring wildflowers in Texas.
Fun fact: Ladybird Johnson (who was such a wonderful supporter of wildflowers) grew up near our lake house in East Texas and we found a letter from her to the prior owners inside the house that used to stand on our land. I framed it!
The state flower for Maryland is the Black Eye Susan.
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There’s a children’s picture book titled “The Legend of the Bluebonnet” by Tomie dePaola (1996). It’s a beautiful book!