The second in a series on wildflowers: Texas bluebonnets are the ubiquitous sign that spring has sprung in Texas. Well, there area few other signs, but when you are driving down the highway and see the flowers blooming, you know it’s time to start digging in the dirt and pulling out the shorts—maybe! The bluebonnet is one of five state flowers. That is, all five lupine species are considered the state flower! Texas bluebonnet story. A few years ago I grew some in a container in Florida. They did pretty good for the climate and some day I’d love to grow them again. Of course there are the beautiful fields…

The first in a series on Texas wildflowers. The commonly known Indian Paintbrush is almost as famous as it’s wildflower friend the Texas Bluebonnet. The bright red of the paintbrush is usually in a field alongside of its more popular friend. The red and blue are a symbol that spring has definitely arrived in Texas! This native annual can be grown from seed in your own yard if you so wanted. The red of the plant is actually not the flower but bracts surrounding the smaller, less conspicuous flower. In the field we photographed we found a magenta variety in the mix… *later edit*: I actually think this might be…

After finding the flowering plant of spring coralroot orchid at Texoma a week ago Chris and I wanted to find more to get better photos. I asked the folks at Tandy Hills if they’d seen any there but they answered with a negative. My next step was to ask the Fort Worth Nature Center and I got a positive answer. We weren’t quite sure where we might find them other than near the river area and in shaded leaf litter so we set off for the Riverbottom trail. We walked for twenty minutes or so and then Chris spotted some that already had seed pods. *drat*. We kept walking and…