Fredericksburg

Bluebonnets: the Pride of Texas

Ever since men first explored the prairies of Texas, the bluebonnet has been revered. American Indians wove folktales around this bright bluish-violet flower; early-day Spanish priests planted it thickly around their newly established missions; and the cotton boll and cactus competed fiercely with it for the state flower—the bluebonnet won the title in 1901.

The prized flower pops up across the fields of the Hill Country in March, usually peaking in April. Nearly half a dozen varieties of the bluebonnet, distinctive for flowers resembling pioneers' sunbonnets, bloom throughout the state, even as far west as Big Bend National Park. In fact, from mid-January until late March at least one of the famous flowers carpets the park: the Big Bend (also called Chisos) Bluebonnet has been described as "the most majestic" species, as its deep-blue flower spikes can shoot up to three feet in height. The Big Bend bluebonnets can be found beginning in late winter on the flats of the park as well as along the Camino del Rio (Highway 70), which follows the legendary Rio Grande between Lajitas and Presidio, Texas.

Back in the Hill Country, those out for a springtime Sunday-afternoon drive can see the violet-blue flowers along the road or at several attractions, including Fredericksburg's Wildseed Farms, right off Highway 290 as you enter town from the east, and Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (4801 La Crosse Ave.) Farther north, in Burnet, the self-proclaimed Bluebonnet Capital of Texas, there's a bluebonnet festival each April.

For information on viewing the bluebonnets, call the Wildflower Center (512/292-4100) or the Texas Department of Transportation Hotline (800/452-9292) from March to May.

—Marge Peterson