Just wanted to let you know that bluebells are growing all up and down our street in Willis, Montgomery Co., Tx. There is one particularly pretty field. I have some in the pasture in front of my house. We have terrible clay soil, and they seem to love it. The drought has not seemed to bother them at all. They grow in the ditches also. I was sad to see an ad on Craigs list where someone was selling the cut flowers.  

We drove from Louisiana to view the Wildflowers, the coverage was well enought that we felt it was worth the drive

I just went through Ennis on Saturday (4/9/2011) and it is great...almost as good as 2007. Actually, a few areas are better.

I have reports at:

http://wildflowerhaven.crowdmap.com/reports/view/24

 

 

I will also add separate reports there as I can.

 

The most important point: GO NOW!...without rain soon, the show will likely be over in 7-10 days. Seedpods are already showing up.
 

The ten acre field previously reported in Waller is very thick and in full bloom.  It is just a few blocks past Myrtle Avenue on right side of Penick Road.  There is nothing else of note in this area.  Industry is pretty much a none-event this year.  The one exception is a partial bluebonnet field at TX159 and FM2754.  There was another nice field of bluebonnets along FM2754 that I could actually smell them.  There are a few nice spots of phlox in Kenny but almost no flowers along Phillipsburg Church Road.  There are a few partially covered bluebonnet fields along TX36 south of Brenham.  The TXDOT bluebonnets along US290 between Brenham and Burton are about the same as they were two weeks ago.  If you take the first Burton exit at Spur 125 and then the first right there is a small but nice unrestricted bluebonnet field.  Scenic 390 is the best bluebonnet viewing of the areas visited Sunday, 4/3/11.  And the best of the best were the fields along Zibilski Road between FM2679 and Quail Run Road.  They are not as outstanding as years past but still pretty darn good.  Old Baylor is not great but there are bluebonnet fields on both sides of it that had traffic backed up for photos.  A nice surprise was the ride home on TX105 from Navasota to Montgomery where the TXDOT bluebonnets along the highway were very nice with a few really nice bluebonnet fields.  Notable is a field across from Montgomery High School and one on the other side of town in front of a new subdivision.  It is still pretty dry but the wildflowers are trying their best to put on a good show!

The whole drive from waco to corsicana on hwy 31 there are small patches up to full fields in full bloom. its beautiful.  there are even full fields on hwy 31 on the east side of athens.

 

Note: Title edited by RichO

I didn't stop, but it appeared to be an accessible field where several people were shooting.

There are some nice spots along this short stretch of FM 362. Lots of yellow groundsel, several respectable size, dense patches of bluebonnets w/a sprinkling of paintbrush & pink primrose.
This being said, 2011 is a very disappointing year for wildflowers. :(

Took a drive out to WCL on Friday (April 1). VERY few bluebonnets. We had to LOOK to find any. I've been out there year after year and this is the driest I've seen it. An "average" year but that might be too much to ask under these (drought) conditions. It's still a little bit early so maybe there's still hope.

Didn't think we'd see much of anything this year, but we got a good rain last weekend and I'm starting to see the flowers come out. No big fields of flowers yet, but patches along the roadways

Pink Primroses filling large sections of the medians

Some stretches of bluebonnets along frontage road of I-10 just west of Sequin, TX.  You can view the report and map location at:

 

 

 

A few patches of bluebonnets along the highway just beginning to open up.

saw good but not great groupings of bluebonnets, some indian paintbrush and other wildflowers between Schulenburg exit 674 and Luling exit 632 on Interstate 10. Highway 183 south to Palmetto State Park had some particularly good showings of bluebonnets.

We took our son back to A&M after the Springbreak and saw a lot of Bluebonnets and Yellow Cosmo along HW6 half way between Hempstead and Navasota. We were on this same road a week ago and did not see anything; so there is some hope for this season. Most Bluebonnets were probably one third of the fullbloom height but were enough to fill continuously along the middle diviver path. It is still nowhere near the bloom of last year though!

 

Joe

I was in Brenham today and did a little scouting for wildflowers.  Most everything is still pretty sparse and things look really dry.  Phiilipsburg road in Austin County doesn't look good.  Bluebonnet patches along TX36 south of Brenham and on the north side of US290 west of Brenham.  "The field" along Zilbiski Road near Longpoint had a lot of bluebonnet plants.  Wind flowers and bluebonnets at Old Baylor near Independence.  Some more patches along 105 going towards Navasota.  The patches are very scattered and all the bluebonnets had very small blooms and seem really low to the ground.  I know it is early but if we don't get some rain soon this season could disappoint!

After our welcome rain Monday and warm sunshine since the bluebonnets along Terramont and Branch Crossing in The Woodlands (just north of Houston) have really started to bloom.  I stopped and shot photos for about thirty minutes today and you can see the results at this link:
http://grigsbys.smugmug.com/Texas-Wildflowers/Spring-2011/Spring-2011/14747112_YNtJ7#1198258951_6Xmxp

As I was returning home this morning from an appointment in the welcome rain I could see that the median of Lake Woodlands Parkway east of North Shore Park was covered with crimson clover.

Drove from Sealy up 36 through Brenham over to Independence and saw spotty short bluebonnets blooming along the route and in the fields mentioned in the Directions section. There were lots of leafy bluebonnet plants in all fields as well.  Paintbrush were VERY spotty, but were seen along roadsides en route and in the field south of Old Baylor Park by the old well.

I’m sure this little two day cold spell will slow things down a tad but spring is definitely starting to show here in The Woodlands (just north of Houston).  The red bud trees are full out as are the honeysuckle vines.  The crab and pears are showing a lot of white blooms.  Along the road ways we have a smattering of corn flowers, scarlet clover and yes some bluebonnets.  It is all still pretty sparse but really encouraging as everything seems to be getting the spring lime green color.  Roadways that are showing are Branch Crossing, Terramont, Woodlands Parkway and the park in Creekside.  

Lots of nice patches of the pinkish henbit in Field Store on FM1488 and between Round Top and LaGrange on TX 237 and TX 159. It is early but the roadsides are really starting to green up and even a few fields. I could see some nice bluebonnet rosettes from the car along the 71 bypass in LaGrange and at the old Baylor park along Scenic highway 390 in Independence.

Also went through Willow city Loop and was very disappointed.

Blooms galore!  Took the family down and was recommended to do the Willow City Loop.  I was awestruck and amazed to the amount of blooms and variety available.  I’m glad we did, since we were originally going to just drive through Rd 4 at Inks Lake area.  Definitely didn’t have the amount that Willow City Loop had this Sunday.

 

Not sure if it was Full or Early Bloom since it was our first time.

 

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12377&id=100000316938889

 

My husband and I spent the weekend photographing wildflowers in the counties West and Northwest of San Antonio. Willow City Loop was lovely, but not as full as in the past. The Union Band cemetery was quite full of bluebonnets. There were several fields along Rt 83 South of Garner (Edited: Garner State Park, not Garner, Texas), that were sea's of blue and purple. Perhaps the best spot was along route 462, just North of I 35 (South of Yancey) that is a rainbow of flowers, of every color under the rainbow. I live near Houston, and passed thru the Brenham/Navasota area on our way home, and was quite disappointed with the flowers there.

We decided to see what all the excitement was about south of San Antonio so Pat and I got on the road about 5:30am.  Even though it was just getting light when we pasted through Industry, TX I could see the field at Main and TX159 was showing a good mix of flowers with phlox, bluebonnets and paint brush.  There were several other nice spots in through the town.  There are nice bluebonnet patches at TX71 and US77.  Once on I10 headed west the TXDOT wildflowers in the medians and road sides make for a pleasant drive.  We took I410 SW to TX16 south and the wildflowers really didn’t pick up for several miles.  As we neared Poteet the bluebonnets and paintbrush were abundant.  We took FM476 NW and found field after field of bluebonnet, paintbrush and mixed fields and made one stop after another to photograph the spring beauty.  We took FM2790 to Lytle and the scenes continued.  After lunch we continued on FM2790 NW but soon ran out of the flower fields so we turned around and tried TX 132 south but again found very little  in the way of wildflower fields.  We spent the next hour plus driving up and down I35, its feeder roads and a few side roads photographing the amazing fields of bluebonnets.  Many of the fields are laced with white poppies.  Finally after absorbing our overload of BLUE we took I35 south to Devine where we picked up TX173 towards Pleasanton.  The wildflower road sides and fields started turning into mixed bouquets.  After a Dairy Queen cone and a gasoline fill up (ten cents cheaper than further north) in Pleasanton we headed NE on TX97 to head home.  In my book this highway was the winner of our trip.  In a couple areas the mix of white and purple poppies was just spectacular!  There was vista after vista of mixed wildflowers all along the highway until we passed Stockdale when the wildflower magic seemed to disappear except for a few really nice isolated spots.  Coming back through Round Top on TX237 we encountered the early madness of this weekend’s Antique Festival but no wildflowers to speak of.  Back on US290 we saw TXDOT bluebonnets all along the roadsides into Brenham.  We stopped for dinner and then limped home after our fourteen hour round trip.  Now I need to process all the photos.

In my nearly 30 years in Tx I have never seen such a profusion of wildflowers. Massive fields of bluebonnets, paintbrush, phlox, groundsel, bladderpod, pepper grass, prickly poppies, and others. Going south from SA on IH35 you will begin to see large fields of wildflowers as you near Lytle. Wildflowers become more profuse as you near Natalia. Nearly every multi-acre lot in this area is covered with wildflowers. Every road I went down had field after field of flowers. Bluebonnets appear to be near peak now. I was on the way to Devine, but never made it; will try again soon. Will post pics on my site soon.

I went back this morning to check on the dogwoods at Sam Houston State Park just off of I45 south of Huntsville and found them coming along nicely.  They range from full blooms in sunny areas to young buds in shady areas.  With continued warm weather I think they will be great for viewing from this weekend for another couple weeks.  After a quick breakfast I decided to pop over to the Brenham area for a quick look.

I took TX30 to TX 90 at Roans Prairie and the wildflowers were pretty sparse until I almost got to Anderson and found a great yellow field of Groundsel in front of a farm house.  There was nothing much else to see on into Navasota where I picked up TX105.  I took FM1155 to Washington-on-the Brazos when I found a couple of good patches of bluebonnets and phlox (the best one is behind the original star shaped building).  Again there was nothing much to see or report along FM1155 except some really cute miniature horse colts.  So I got back to TX105 and went towards Brenham to highway 50 and turned towards Independence.  Well the treasure of this trip has to be Old Baylor.  It is full of bluebonnets (many more that in the past few years) in bloom along with phlox, wind flowers, wild onions and a few paint brush.  I’m not sure why this field was so much better than every other place I looked today.  This side of Washington County looks to be on the DRY side to me.  I know that the bright blue sky makes the blue flowers difficult to see but I was actually disappointed in the progress I saw from my last two trips out.  Maybe it is still just too early and we’ll get a big show later?

I took scenic 390 back to TX105 and there were scattered patches of bluebonnets but mostly orange paint brushes.  There was one BIG field of paint brushes on the left just before reaching TX105.  So back towards Navasota I went and there were decent patches of bluebonnets along the road sides until I reached the Brazos River and then pretty much nothing.  I took a little side trip off of TX105 on FM362 to Whitehall and there were patches of paint brush but almost no bluebonnets in sight.  They were tilling the field in front of the church so that won’t be a photo op this year.  I wish I had better news but that is what I saw.  I still managed some really nice photos and again it was a gorgeous day to be out in the country.

Found a large field of sandyland bluebonnets near Poteet (Jett Rd and SH-16). Also another large field of sandyland bluebonnets off US-87 along CR-307 near Sutherland Springs.

Photos and details see: http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/2692/ShowPost.aspx

And http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/2694/ShowPost.aspx

 

Bluebonnets & Paintbrush beginning to bloom along Loop 410 from Rigsby exit to exit for south IH35. 

A quick trip up I45 towards Huntsville today showed lots of purple vetch and yellow jasmine in full bloom on the sides of the highway between loop 336 north and Willis but unfortunately construction is still in full bloom also. Next year should be smooth sailing on this stretch of I45. The dogwood trees at Sam Houston State Park are right on the verge of blooming and could pop full out next week unless the predicted cold snap for this weekend slows them down. I saw just a few very young blooms today that were still that yellow-green color just before turning white but lots and lots of buds. I wonder if they will have dogwoods in bloom this weekend at Davey Dogwood park for their festival in Palestine?

Early wildflower scouting trip to Dewitt County March 15, 2010.

Entering Washington County on US290 there are several nice batches of bluebonnets along the north side and in the median of the highway with big healthy plants and early blooms.  The patch that the Houston TV news team showed during the recent snow in front of the Brenham Arbys along the feeder is in full bloom.  Although the dense fog prevented clear sightings for the next half hour I could still make out good patches of bluebonnets along the north side of US290 out almost to Burton.  I’m talking about 40-50% coverage with plenty of fresh early blooms.

There were NOT a lot of wildflowers from there to TX237 to TX159 to TX71 other than wind flowers, henbit, red buds, etc.  The north slopes of TX71 near US77 are coming along nicely as reported a couple weeks ago.  Just before business TX71 on US77 there is a front yard that is just covered with big beautiful bluebonnets.  Then about half way between LaGrange and Schulenburg on US77 there are two patches of what looked to me to be grape hyacinths on both sides of the highway.  Why there and how they got there is a mystery to me.

Next I followed the Dewitt County wildflower map from http://www.lnstar.com/mall/txtrails/wildflowers/yoakum.htm
To see what was going on south of I10.  There seemed to be more Indian paintbrush than bluebonnets along this route.   It is obviously still too early for good coverage along the roads but each time I would get discouraged I would find a new batch of flowers near something interesting to photograph.  So there were plenty of miles between each photo. 

As I turned off of US77A onto FM531 at Sweet Home the highway was lined with Indian paintbrush and phlox.  I turned at TX111 and headed for Yoakum and found the highway lined with Indian paint brush and Engelmann daisies.  In Yoakum there were lots of Texas mountain laurels in full bloom.  After some lunch I continued west on TX111 and found a yard full of spiderwort, patches where the highway was lined with baby blue eyes and at the junction of TX111 and US183 a big patch of full out bluebonnets.  I think there are always bluebonnets at this corner!  Going south on US183 was pretty sparse of wildflowers until just before Cuero where there was a big white farm house almost floating above a field of blue Texas toad-flax (I think).  On the way back up US77A through Yoakum to TX95 there were more patches of Indian paint brush, phlox and a few bluebonnets.

On my way back home I took TX159 through Industry and saw very little change from my last report.  FM2754 was very sparse and at Phillipsburg Church Road the farmer has mowed all along the front of his property and along the road.  The Unser Platz field has bluebonnet plants along the road and in the field but not in the profusion of past years.  Further along the road and up the hill on the dirt road it looked like the field had be plowed, new fencing installed and new KEEP OUT signs in place.  I didn’t see much in the way of wildflowers along TX105 east of Brenham, through Navasota and onto FM362 through White Hall but I must admit I didn’t get out of the car and was pretty tired after a full day of scouting.

My take on the trip as a whole is that it is way too early for the big show and things seem on the dry side again.  We could use some more rain to help the blooms along.  So I may reign in my enthusiasm just a little and predict a good season but maybe not a GREAT season.  The areas I visited are at least two to three weeks away and I don’t plan another trip until April.  Still it was a perfect day for photography, bright overcast with light winds.  You can see the photos from this trip starting on page two here:

See full report with photos at:

 

I thought I would share my early 2010 wildflower scouting trip with you and my findings are generally very encouraging for the areas that I visited.  First the bad news – there will be no flowers along FM1488 from FM2978 to Moyston Drive this year due to widening construction.

I found lots of small bluebonnet rosettes at US 290 and TX 6 in Hempstead even though all the Lawrence Marshall car dealerships are gone.  At Jingle Bell Lane just outside of Hempstead on TX 159 there were scattered sand bluebonnet rosettes.  The field in front of the white church just off TX 159 in Nelsonville is void of any bluebonnet rosettes but is covered with Henbit.  At Main and TX 159 just as you enter Industry the phlox are already starting to bloom.  There are lots of bluebonnet rosettes here and up the hill to the church.  All along Main there already nice big bunches of baby blue eyes in bloom.  The old white house with the outside water pump is now occupied and the yard is mowed – too bad.

LaGrange looks real good along TX 71 and US 77 with a few bluebonnets already in bloom and tons of rosettes the size of an adults hand.  Round Top had a nice bunch of wildflowers already in bloom, Henbit, wind flowers, bunches of a very small blue star shaped flower (smaller than a pencil eraser), bunches of small white flowers (maybe storks bill or sand bells?) and big bluebonnet rosettes in the church graveyard.

Off of Scenic 390 at Zibilski Road “THE FIELD” is showing good promise with lots of bluebonnet rosettes.  Old Baylor is covered with wind flowers.  There were many bluebonnet rosettes but I could only find one bluebonnet in bloom in the entire field.  There were a few Indian paint brush in bloom near the bright blue house in Independence.

It was a beautiful day (a little windy) for a drive in the country and I was please with the early progress of the 2010 wildflower crop.  You can view 25 photos that I took along the way at:
http://grigsbys.smugmug.com/Texas-Wildflowers/Spring-2010/Spring-2010/11374839_kuWKe#799117896_HmhuB

 

I think this is the video that was the one Murry talked about in the forum.

I was in South Texas and saw some Bluebonnets. I saw lots of thick seedlings too all along the highway.

Went to Brenham area for New Years Eve and New Years Day, went looking for rossettes after breakfast on New Years Day. Saw lots by the way and one ambitious critter even had a bloom. How bout that a New Years Day bonnet, that's gotta be some kind of good sign if your in to superstitious New Years Day stuff. Anyway I think there's gonna be a bumper crop of wildflowers this year.

There were many fields of wildflowers, mostly bluebonnets, in the first two miles of FM 969 starting at TX 71

I'm not a photographer or bluebonnet enthusiast, so I don't know how technically great these bluebonnets were, but I was on the lookout for a nice field on a drive from Galveston to Dallas.  I spotted a nice field off I45 which was adjacent to a Chili's parking lot in Corsicana, and spotted a family taking photos in the field.  I thought it was nice to see bluebonnets that you wouldn't have to brave highway traffic to get close to. 

This area rec'd 1 1/2 inches of rain from 3/13/2009  to 3/14/2009 which should help bring on more blooms.

Also, more popping up along HWY.290 and along FM 389.

The bluebonnets are almost perfect right now in the garden.  From the entrance walk straight back past the koi pond through the covered seating area to the left past the small fountains.  Both blue and pink bonnets are in good shape.  Also if you'd like a great scent of grape KoolAide check out the Texas Maountain Laurel at the front right of the garden but hurry they are on the down side of blooming.  One other location you might try for bluebonnets is Creekside Park in The Woodlands.  One corner of the park is planted each year in bluebonnets.  I45 to Woodlands Parkway, left on Gosling and then right on CreekSide to the park.

Anyone have any suggestions for bluebonnet photo locations for the Houston area??

 

>>Editor<<

Check the report filed by Murry below. The best areas for bluebonnets in the Houston area are usually close to Brenham or between Brenham and the Woodlands.
This year because of the lack of rain it will be hit and miss, so check our forums at: http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums . As reports come in they will be posted there as well as here.

Most good patches of bluebonnets are along the roadsides or in the medians like along US290 from Hempstead to Chappell Hill the exception is Lake Dr @ West Hilltop Dr in the Chappell Hills subdivision where there is a full field of good rosettes and 2% blooms.  Nice patches along Flewellen and Winston Drives and TX105.  Scenic TX390 is pretty bare with few rosettes in the fields. Old Baylor 2% in bloom with small rosettes and flowers.  It is very dry and gets drier as you go south.  Good roadside bluebonnets along US71 between TX159 and US 77.  The south banks are doing much better than the north side with big plants and blooms maybe at 2%.  Industry is not looking good and very dry.  Big field at Main is almost devoid of any wildflowers and the empty house at Main and Schamm is now occupied and their yard is closely mowed.  Lots of "Burn Ban" signs and not many signs of wildflowers south of Brenham!  I know it is early but without any rain this season could be a bust?

This is an excellent showing for so early and considering the rough treatment from Ike's cleanup.  I wouldn't drive too far to see these yet but if you're in the neighborhood bring your camera :0)  I'm guessing one to two percent in bloom but the bonnets along Terramont are big and fresh.

they are in my backyard. very good showing this year.  the last few years they have been very spotty. popped up in the worst soil in backyard.

Small field bluebonnets on the east side of Loop 1605 between Hwy 161 and Culebra.

 

Google Maps link:

 

They were thick in spots but really pretty!

With the exception of only a handful of small patches along the roads listed above, I saw virtually no signs of bluebonnets. The Willow City Loop was bare. My favorite wildflower field off of Hwy 29 was bare. What's going on? I don't know. Perhaps Austin got a lot more rain than the hill country. Maybe this week's rains might help. I was very disappointed and depressed about it all.

 

Editor: Bluebonnets are very dependent on fall rains. Without good fall rain, the bluebonnet plants will not germinate. All of Texas received less than normal rainfall during Sep-Nov 2007. The Hill Country received even less. This left us with few seedlings to start with. The winter rainfall from mid-Feb to end of March is needed to help the seedlings develop into mature healthy plants. The Hill Country received less than normal rainfall during the winter. Any rainfall now will not result in more bluebonnet seedlings, but could help improve the May-June wildflower display. Also, any perennial plants (like paintbrush and showy primrose) will also benefit from recent rainfall. The best areas this year will be Brenham and Ennis...and even those areas might not see an average display of bluebonnets.  Check our forums for recent sightings:
http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/

 

3 miles north of Johnson City, follow road to Sandy.  12 to 14 miles of gorgeous bluebonnets...some poppys, yellows and a few paintbrush as well

Tuesday (4/10/2007) I traveled to Mason County. I am very happy to report that the recent snow and sleet had little or no negative effect on the wildflowers I saw. The coverage in the northern routes that I traveled was equal to and in some cases more than in 2004. To me the coverage this is year far exceeds that of 2005 and certainly 2006. Not all areas are necessarily experiencing a better year, but even in the less covered areas the coverage was much better then 2006. Coverage along RR-1900 exceeds that of any area I have seen this year with the exception of parts of Keyserville road in Loyal Valley. The best locations are in the northern part of Mason County with the exception of Keyserville Road in Loyal Valley. I did not travel all of the southern routes, but I saw enough to tell you that the northern parts are doing much better. For the complete report with photos see: http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/2023/ShowPost.aspx

 

I took a hurried scouting trip to Marble Falls, Burnet and Kingsland. Overall the theme of the trip was "hit and miss" with some spots with no bluebonnets and others heavily covered. The good news is that the famous house just north of Marble Falls along US 281 is once again surrounded by a field of bluebonnets. For the full report see:

 

I received an email report from Mason Chamber of Commerce concerning the bluebonnets in Mason County.

Bluebonnets are blooming well in the Northeast and Northwest part of Mason County.

Details see:

 

On Tuesday, 4/3/2007, I took a scouting trip to Sandy, Texas via RR-1320 and RR-1323. This is the original route of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Loop.

 

In banner years, the bluebonnets along RR-1323 and RR-1320 near Sandy can put on display like Willow City. Growing in red sandy soil much like that along the northend of Willow City Loop, the bluebonnets near Sandy only need a little rain to get growing tall and big.  This year is not a banner year in Sandy, but for the first time in several years the roadsides and some fields have a fairly good coverage of bluebonnets.  The coverage is about on par with the north end of Willow City Loop, but a bit less than what I saw along RR-2323.  The good news is that there are places to stop along RR-1320. (At Willow City Loop, stopping along the Loop is discouraged. )

 

Read the entire report and view the photos at:

We have had several reports reports on the Brenham - Industry areas filed in the forums at WildflowerHaven Community. Bill Purcell and Gary Regner have provided maps with their reports. You can view these reports at the East Texas forum:

Sunday 4/1/2007, I took a scouting trip covering RR-2323, Prairie Mountain, US 71, Enchanted Rock SNA and Willow City Loop. You can read the entire report and view photos from my trip at:

 

71 between Austin and Bastrop began to show numerous Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush in the road ditches.  We saw lots of BBs and pink primroses around Fayette Lake.  Actually we saw multitudes of many different kinds of blooms all along the route.  The old part of the Catholic Cemetery in Frelsburg is literally covered in BBs and some Paintbrush, well worth stopping.  New Ulm was wonderful as well, just going through on 109.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to investigate Industry as I had planned because of car trouble.  Independence was a little disappointing, perhaps it was still too early.  The church at Antique Rose Emporium and a nearby house usually have a yard full of BBs and Paintbrushes, but not this year.  Also, Old Baylor Park was a bit sparse.  The biggest thrill was taking 2769 off of 290 a few miles west of Brenham.  Zionville had a nice showing of BBs and Paintbrushes in the area.  Taking side roads as suggested by Bill Purcell really paid off.  We saw acres and acres of blue.  I had never seen such a thing!  Check out my shot in the Brenham section of photos of the huge Yucca plant in bloom in a pasture full of BBS.

See photos at:

 

I got a phone report of bluebonnet fields near Simmons, Texas (Ten Miles southwest of Three Rivers, 84 miles south of San Antonio) along FM-1042. See details at WildflowerHaven Community:

 

There are truly huge fields of Bluebonnets, some as far as the eye can see.  Absolutely breathtaking and you can literally smell the aroma of the wildflowers, making you wish you could bottle it and take it home with you.

 

Edited: Thank you Ted. This is southwest of San Antonio toward Floresville, correct?

After a few years of dismal showing, bluebonnets have returned to FM-1283. FM-1283 is the main route to Medina Lake on the west-northwest side of San Antonio.

While not at the coverage back in the banner years of 1999 and 2000, there are a few stretches where the coverage is 60-70%. See full report with photos at:

Bluebonnets are showing up in the medians of Loop 1604 between Braun Rd and Bandera Rd. Coverage varies from a few moderately covered stretches to areas less than 20% covered. Blooms are still early, but it looks like most of the plants have buds that will bloom soon. There were also several mature blooms mixed in with the others.

 

I also saw patches of bluebonnet plants along Bandera Road between Loop 1604 and where Braun Road intersects with Bandera Road. (Braun Road runs diagonally from Bandera Road to Loop 1604.

 

Unfortunately, both Loop 1604 and Bandera Road are much too congested to safely stop or slow down.

Photo: http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/photos/south_texas/images/1814/700x500.aspx

Indian paint brush and crovich along FM242, corn flowers and bluebonnets along Grogans Mill and blueblonnets along Woodlands Parkway.  Our warm dry stretch ended with a rainstorm last night. Plants look big and healthy!

I made my pre-season visit to Willow City Loop on Saturday, 3/10/2007. While this year is not likely to be a banner year for Willow City Loop bluebonnets, there are enough rosettes present to produce a good showing along several sections of the Loop. I would expect that good bloom coverage will begin around April 1st and continue through April 15th with the peak around April 8th – 9th.

Complete report with photos can be read at:

 

City: San Antonio

I spotted several early bluebonnet blooms in the medians of Loop 1604 on the northside near O'Connor Road. The number of plants seems to be much smaller than in previous years, so the coverage will not be as good.

I think this is the earliest that I have spotted bluebonnet blooms in the San Antonio area. This is likely due to the erratic weather we have had with swings between really warm nights/days to cold nights/warm days.

On the south facing slopes of the highway I saw the early stages of blooms.  This was over a week ago so things have most likely progressed. 

One of our community members has posted a very detailed seedling report for the Brenham/Bellville area. Visit:

to read the full report.

Above normal rainfall in the past 30 days has created an explosion of wildflowers in the northern Hill Country counties of Llano and San Saba. The predominant colors are red and yellow. Areas along SH-16 and RR-501 near Cherokee look like scenes from a watercolor book.

See: Wildflower Explosion in Llano - San Saba Counties
http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/1243/ShowPost.aspx

On my way back from Dallas this past weekend, I spotted a section of I-35 just south of Salado that was filled with mealy sage and yellow prickly cactus. Just down the road from that spot was a large stretch of firewheels.

Full report with photos posted at: http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/1229/ShowPost.aspx

 

Industry and Bleiblerville areas remain excellent. See here for details. http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/1094/ShowPost.aspx#1094

We spent Tuesday, mostly in Washington County, chasing bluebonnets and the news is still good for this area.  I’ll just share the highlights.  FM1155 from TX105 to US290 is excellent.  Lots of full big patches of roadside bluebonnets and several full fields.

Editor's note: Read Murry's full and several others in the East Texas Sightings forum at:

 

Wow, when it was good it was very good. Too many locations to mention, just follow the route. The Brenham East route is pretty good in spots but not as awesome as industry. I only have a few pictures posted but will be adding more later this week. Flower Gallery Here.  (http://ed-cooley.com/cgi-bin/gallery/index.cgi?mode=album&album=./Texas%20Wildflowers)

 

Thanks to Bill Purcell for his excellent scouting reports, it made all the difference for a first time visitor.

 

Editor's note: You can read several full reports in the East Texas Sightings forum at:
http://community.wildflowerhaven.com/forums/7/ShowForum.aspx

Bluebonnet covered fields can be seen along the service road of I-10 beginning at exit 668 just west of Schulenburg to Schulenburg US 77 exit. For updated report (4/10/2006) with photos see:

 

Conditions around Lake Buchanan are not very good this year for bluebonnets or other wildflowers. The fields where it were full of bluebonnets last year are empty.

For the best displays of wildflowers head to Washington and Austin counties. Areas around Brenham, Chappell Hill, Hempstead, and Industry have an abundance of wildflowers. There are many big fields of bluebonnets and other wildflowers in some areas. Many large fields of bluebonnets can be seen along Hwy290 starting west of Brenham and continuing towards Houston. Peak appears to be now and perhaps for another week. This appears to be a banner year for this area, and things have improved significantly over the last week.

Conditions are Willow City Loop are not very good this year for bluebonnets or other wildflowers. The best I saw was along the south end of the Loop where the road rises from the valley going south. Bluebonnets were lining the roadsides along that section of the Loop. For a detail report with photos see:

 

A huge field of bluebonnets is located along FM-78 near the town of Cibolo. See photo at:

 

The best patches of bluebonnets are on both side of the bridge over the lake at Northshore park and then just to the north off of LWP at Indian Springs Road.  If we get rain this week it should extend our blooms some but they are really at their prime right now, 3/25/06.

Great year in Brenham and Chappell Hill, many fields are now starting to bloom. Gorgeous year! Hwy 105, 1155, Hwy 290. Bring your camera! It's beautiful in the Birthplace of Texas!

Highway 6 from 290 to Navasota is covered in Blue Bonnets. I have never seen the Highway covered like this even in banner years. North of Navasota to College Station there is nothing!105 East of 6 has blooms also. 362 has a few small patches and some Spider Lilies down towards 1488, but nothing to brag on. The dead end road off of 362 that I reported the BlueBells on last year has a colony of Blue Bonnets that are just starting to flower. They should be good for picture taking in 2 weeks.

Spotty patches of Bluebonnets surrounded by very dry vegetation.

Drove up to Llano yesterday on Rt. 29 and was surprised to see roadsides full of Bluebonnets.  One spot actually had bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush up.  Checked the Sullivan's property and nothing is up there yet.

Lots of Blue Bonnets along the roadsides and plenty of other flowers statring to show. It's been dry, but you can really see how the Texas DOT's work over the past decades is paying off. The fields may not be full like other years, but the roadsides are starting to look real good.

Only small clumps observed currently.  Not enough for good people picture taking yet.  Most of them were in the middle of the road...not easily accessible.

Wildflowers:  For anyone in the Houston area Mercer Gardens has a nice display of bluebonnets and mountain laurel in bloom right now.

The Mercer link is:http://www.hcp4.net/mercer/ ; I know they are exactly wildflowers but for those that can't get out to the country this is a great location to enjoy some of our Texas floral stars!  The Azaleas are also full out and there are many other rare flowers, bushes and trees in bloom.  Enjoy!

I took several drives on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to check out the bluebonnet clover. It's all over the place and in some areas it's thicker then I've ever seen it. There are small clumps of Firewheels and Showy primrose in several locations. Lots of the Firewheels on beltway 8 just south of W little York on the North and South bound Feeder. Might not be a banner year but it should be good.