Natural History Wanderings

New Texas Wildflower Bloom Reports

from Gary Regner Photography, Texas Wildflower Sightings and Wildflower Haven

Gary Regner Photography has  new wildflower bloom reports

April 12, 2012 – Bluebonnets in Ennis
The Ennis area is having an exceptional year for bluebonnets, one of the best I’ve personally seen. Although I only had a chance to quickly drive through the area, there are many, many huge fields covered in blue. The bluebonnets appear to be at peak NOW. Check out the Ennis Bluebonnets Trails website for more information.

I traveled FM 85, Walker Creek Rd and Mach Rd, and they were all very impressive.

April 8, 2012 – Bluebonnets Fading in Hill Country
Bluebonnets in the Hill Country have faded quite a bit in the last week and most are going to seed. Peak was earlier this year due to an unusually warm winter and spring. Lack of recent rain is also putting an end to the bloom. Viewing will be OK for the next several days, but conditions for photography are no longer very good.

A second wave of wildflowers can be expected in a couple weeks. This time it will be golden yellow coreopsis and red and yellow firewheels. I spotted a great number of these that will be blooming soon. We can also expect prickly pear cacti and purple horsemint in the coming weeks.

His website page Wildflower Report is a good source for Texas wildflower bloom updates.  He also has a photographic Wildflower Index for Texas wildflowers.

The Texas Wildflower Sightings website continues to post new updates on bluebonnets, paintbrush and other wildflowers across Texas including these two postings:

Brenham was the worst I have seen since drought. Old Baylor Park didn’t have much. As a professional photographer I recommend Whitehall. Not as good as 2009 but large fields of bluebonnets. I had short time to scout because of checking spots of previous posts saying Brenham was good. Willow City was very good and maybe better than 2010. There was a lot of poppies. Mason area had a lot of bluebonnets almost as good as 2010 and maybe good for another week or so. Also if you go through Giddings they have the cheapest gas $3.59 at Buckees. 4/11/2012

 I had a couple enjoyable afternoons and evenings/sunsets in the Hill Country … without further ado, here are the highlights:

– A couple of large fields full of mealy blue sage just east of Burnet on Hwy. 29 and CR 333.

– Fairland Rd. near Marble Falls. Thanks to the previous poster who recommended this road – wonderful drive with a great mix of blooms.

– Llano CR 307 west from Kingsland. I’d driven this road a few times in previous years and have never seen it this good – highly recommended!

– Llano CRs 413, 414, 414A … I drove this in a big loop on Saturday and was so impressed that I drove it again on Sunday in the opposite direction. This is just the sort of scenery I enjoy most – much of it unfenced, open range with many broad, panoramic views and flowers/butterflies everywhere amidst the oaks. The aromas out there are almost overwhelming, and there are many perfect places to just stop, turn off the engine and enjoy the silence.  4/9/2012

Went down the road to Enchanted Rock and around the Willow City Loop. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Both were could definitely be roads to heaven. The road to Enchanted Rock had dense blankets of bluebonnets along both sides of the road. Willow City Loop offered a wide variety of flowers (everything listed above and more probably). Very robust looking bluebonnets, much taller than the ones we saw along other roads. Hwy 29 from Burnet to Llano was also beautiful. Lots of nice thick mixed patches of flowers ( indian paintbrush, white prickly poppies, bluebonnets, indian blanket) along the road. Hwy 281 from Johnson City to Burnet was also good, saw a large patch of verbena and some other small mixed patches of indian paintbrush and black eyed susans. Close to Marble Falls we saw some red corn poppies occasionally. Didn’t see much in Burnet. Stopped by Brenham as well and saw some nice mixed patches along Old Chappell Hill, but could tell that we missed the peak here. Hwy 290 from Brenham to Fredericksburg was ok, just some sparse mixed patches along the road. Passed by one incredible field of bluebonnets along 290 going west after Brenham, but can’t remember exactly where. 4/6/12-4/7/12 4/9/2012

Also check out the Wildflower Forums at Wildflower Haven for new reports throughout Texas. Here are a few wildflower bloom report highlights  from the Hill Country Forum:

4-10-12 On my way back from Ennis, I took a trip along CR-413 from SH-16. Saw lots of blue curls along with some firewheels, even some prairie phlox, greenthread, vetch, blue sage, and a few bluebonnets. I ended up connecting to Valley Spring RD, so I took that back to SH-71.

4-10-12 Just before the intersection with CR-343 and CR-347, CR-410 runs through a small valley border on either side by steep sloping hills. Bluebonnets mixed with vetch were flowing down the hillsides and along a small creek. This was one area I wish I had traveled last week, because the bluebonnets probably would have been fuller.  However, it was still an awesome sight to see.

4-10-12 The bluebonnets along CR-310 are definitely right at peak overall and fading some, but surprisingly they still look really good. Cattle tracks and beat downs are evident.

Related articles

• Texas Wildflower Update 3/25/12 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)
• South Texas Wildflower Update 3/21/12 (naturalhistorywanderings.com)