Blog

Texas Spring Wildflower Show; Important wildflower information shared

March through May is when wildflowers start popping up and creating beautiful views all across Texas. There is a Hunting Wildflowers 101 series link, bloom times and season updates link, as well as routes and route maps, help with wildflower identification and more. Just click on the links.
You can review all of the past, current and future Hunting Wildflowers 101 series by using this link: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/huntingwildflowers101
BLOOM TIMES and SEASON UPDATES:
“When to Come to See Texas Wildflowers” – https://www.wildflowerhaven.com/Articles/Texas-Bloom-Times
“Recipe for an Awesome Wildflower Season”
https://www.wildflowerhaven.com/…/Wildflower-Season-Recipe
CURRENT SIGHTINGS and REPORTS
Texas Wildflower Report: Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/TexasWildflowerReport/
World Wildflower Reports
https://www.facebook.com/WorldWildflowerReport/
Brenham Wildflower Watch
http://www.visitbrenhamtexas.com
Ennis Bluebonnet Trails
https://www.bluebonnettrail.org/
ROUTES AND ROUTE MAPS
https://www.wildflowerhaven.com/eBooks
WILDFLOWER IDENTIFICATION and PHOTOS
Best online resource I use is Gary Regner’s Wildflower Color Index at: https://www.texaswildflowerpictures.com/wf_index.htm
Texas Flora Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/texasflora
Texas Wildflowers Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/92643952383
World Wildflower Photography Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WorldWildflowerPhotography/

To be sure of the native status of a wildflower in Texas and/or the USA, you can use the following resources:
Native Plant Information Network
https://www.wildflower.org/plants /
USDA Plants Database
https://plants.usda.gov/java/
Texas Flora Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/texasflora
INVASIVE PLANTS
Is the Plant Invasive? To check if a plant is invasive to a region just do a search and include the word “invasive” Example: crimson clover invasive will yield several articles about how this plant can be invasive.
For plants officially designated invasive in Texas go to: https://www.texasinvasives.org/invasives_database/
SAFETY, TEXAS LAW AND WILDFLOWERS
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: “Safety Tips for Wildflower Fans” and “Can you Pick the Bluebonnets?” – https://www.dps.texas.gov/…/dps-offers-safety-tips…

  • COUNTY LAWS: Some counties in Texas do not permit stopping along some roads, especially Ranch and Farm to Market roads. If you do stop pick a spot that does not have wildflowers blooming and where you can safely exit and re-enter the road. You must be able to park parallel to the traffic and on the unimproved part of the roadway.
  • WILLOW CITY LOOP: The property owners do not want people to stop on or off the road along Willow City Loop! You can slow down and take photos from your vehicle. During the peak of the season, sometimes the County Sheriff’s department will have patrols issuing warnings and tickets for trespassing.
  • PRIVATE PROPERTY: No fence does NOT mean you have right to enter private property! You must get permission from property owners to enter private property. Failure to get permission to enter private property could result in a ticket along with a fine and jail time.
  • Oh! DEER and KIDS! Drive Safely and keep an eye out for the kids and the deer crossing the road. Every year someone gets into an accident while viewing our Texas Wildflowers. I have witnessed parents not watching kids as the kids get closer and closer to a road while the parents are busy photographing wildflowers. DON’T die trying to view or photograph our Texas Wildflowers.
  • TAKE PHOTOS NOT WILDFLOWERS: Please leave the wildflowers where you found them so they can go to seed and we can have more next season! Although there is no law that says you cannot pick the wildflowers including bluebonnets, each bloom that is pick is just less seed for future seasons. We are losing land each year to land development, please help keep our remaining wildflowers by leaving them to reseed. You can purchase bluebonnet plants to take home with you from local nurseries that support native plants, Wildseed Farms ( https://www.wildseedfarms.com ) and sometimes H.E.B. stores. Best source for truly native plant seeds and roots is Native American Seed Company – https://www.seedsource.com . You can even rent a cabin – https://www.seedsource.com/ecotourism/index.asp
  • SNAKES Alive and Ants on Fire! Be careful entering any area with high grass or thick vegetation. Even in short grass, I use a long hiking stick to beat and poke the ground ahead of me to let the snakes know I am coming. Most critters prefer not to have contact with us humans and will exit as soon as they can, but corner a critter and it can become aggressive. Any mound of dirt could be a fire ant mound – stay clear of them! And then there are the ticks, chiggers and spiders!
  • TURN AROUND DON’T DROWN: Spring in Texas often brings sudden and very dangerous storm systems that can dump lots of rain in a very short period of time. This then leads to widespread flash flooding along the many streams, rivers and drainage areas. Even roads high along the sides of hills can be flooded. If you approach a road or crossing with water rushing across it, turn around don’t drown! The law says if the road is barricaded then you must turn around. If you go around the barrier, you can get fined and jailed. Texas Transportation Code Sec. 472.022.D.2, “if a person commits an offense under Subsection (a) where a warning sign or barricade has been placed because water is over any portion of a road, street, or highway, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.” https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.472.htm
    BOOK REFERENCES
  • “Wildflowers of Texas” by Geyata Ajilvsgi
  • “Wildflower of the Texas Hill Country” by Marshall Enquist
  • “Wildflowers of Texas” by Michael Eason (new book released in April, 2018. I have the eBook version on my tablet for field use.)