Bluebonnets! Paintbrush! Firewheels!

Times were that we would be driving around with Steve & Gay visiting, and I seriously wondered if my wildflower bingo shouts were annoying. But hopefully just endearing in memory. It is hard to stop yourself once you get started. Well, we were easily carried away by the waves of wildflowers, which lined the roads on our journeys outside Enchanted Rock this spring. Admittedly, I was looking forward to this as the Texas Hill Country has such a wonderful reputation for it.

As usual, our state flower, the Bluebonnet showed up first, accompanied by Indian Paintbrush. Using our Seek Ap, we identified some fun new ones growing in “our yard” and were tickled by their common names, Scrambled Eggs and Turkeypeas. Our favorite regular drive in the area was by far from the Rock to Llano (where we also enjoyed the Earth Art Festival). Every time, there was something new and fields of them: Prickly Poppies, Firewheels, Mealy Sage and Texas Ragwort. It literally looked like the ground was painted with color. In the park, we enjoyed hikes and close up looks at Common Yarrow, Giant Spiderwort, Texas Skeleton plants, Milkweed and all the blooming cacti, Scarlet Hedgehog, Claret Cup, Lace Hedgehog, Little Nipple, and Prickly Pear. There have been huge spreads of happy yellow Coreopsis too, so pretty growing amongst all the pink granite. The Winecups have been returning stars in our yard all season and are featured alongside such tall Mexican Hats and Texas Thistles right now. This wet spring was such gift to the wildflower season. Lady Bird would have loved it! Living in Central Texas for these many years has led me to feel such gratitude for her preservation of all the natural beauty in Austin and the many Texas roadsides. In many ways, the photos just don’t do it justice, but please we hope you enjoy them all the same!