Texas wildflowers are the most beautiful in the world. I know this from viewing experience. It is the time of year when I begin to salivate over possible roadside views, refusing to take the predictions of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center for sparse displays too seriously. The tiny purple and yellow early bloomers are already beginning to pop up along my morning walking trails. Rainfall during the wrong months may have discouraged the hardy bluebonnets from the massive displays often enjoyed in April. I'll take what I can find, and hope the flowering mustard (aka "bastard cabbage") doesn't succeed in blocking the bluebonnets and indian paintbrush for light and nutrients.
I'll begin driving the backroads in a week or so to see where the plants are beginning to flourish. That will give me a map for future views. Years ago, I made this pilgrimage to see the flowers as homage to my mother. She would terrorize anyone mowing her lakeside yard in an untimely manner. The wildflowers had to be given time to bloom and seed so the next year's blooms could be assured. The year we lost her, the yard was mowed early and the wildflowers have never come back to that little bit of lakefront. I'll spot some in this neighborhood and watch them bloom, marking it as an honor to Mammy!
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