Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Bluebonnets


Bluebonnet season is here. The true bluebonnet pastures are west of Tyler, but we do have some beautiful landscapes here. I never saw many people have success with them years ago. Now, lots of homes have them in their yards during the Azalea Trail. There is a home one block of the shop that has a yard full of Azaleas and bluebonnets. It is an old victorian style home. As you drive by, you can almost see a carriage coming from around back.
The bluebonnet was voted in as our state flower in 1901. There are actually 5 different kinds growing in the state. As the picture above shows, they cover the ground in a beautiful field of blue. Usually there are some other wild flowers mixed in. As in this picture, there are some Indian Paint Brush. The flower actually resembles the bonnets pioneer women wore to sheild the sun. They are an annual plant. This means that the plant dies each year, but returns from seed the following year.
They are a beautiful plant, and if you have time you should take a drive towards the southwest and see the fields. There are a few places here in Tyler to see them. Mostly on the Azalea trail. A couple of places I personally know about are at the corner of Front & Fannin downtown, and out Rhones Quarter Rd south of town. Both homes have some beautiful plants.