Spring is just around the corner, and according to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, the Lone Star state is expected to be packed with Texas bluebonnets.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, parts of the state have been plagued by drought this year. The silver lining? These are the conditions that drive a thriving bluebonnet season.
“Wildflowers like to have little competition in the landscape, so drought has reduced competition from other plants,” Lee Clippard, executive director of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, told CultureMap Dallas.
Despite recent rainfall that has eased drought conditions in parts of the state, bluebonnets are nonetheless expected to make a strong showing this season. According to Clippard, the mix of previously dry conditions and more frequent spaced-out rains is ideal for the flowers.
The Texas bluebonnet is the most prevalent of the five species of bluebonnets native to the state. Typically, the flower will reach its peak bloom in North Texas in late March, while Central Texas will see the height of the season slightly earlier in mid-March.
“It’s like a gradient from south to north… It’s warmer generally as you go south, so they bloom a little bit earlier,” the director of horticulture at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, Andrea DeLong-Amaya, told CultureMap last year.
Once the bloom begins, there are some ideal spots where you can view the state flower.
- Austin: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Big Bend National Park: Home of the Big Bend Bluebonnet
- Brenham: Bluebonnet Hotspot
- Burnet: The Official Bluebonnet Capital of Texas
- Ennis: The Official Bluebonnet City of Texas
- Fredericksburg: Wildflower Farm and Willow City Loop Scenic Drive
- Marble Falls: Home of the Bluebonnet House
Additional details about each location can be found in an article published in The Dallas Express last spring.
