Hundreds of miles of roads link 7 distinct geographic areas; Big Bend Country, Panhandle Plains, Hill Country, Prairies and Lakes, Piney Woods, South Texas Plains and Gulf Coast. And along those roadsides 800,000 acres of highway right-of-way are cared for by the Texas Department of transportation.
They are proud to call themselves the nation's largest gardener.
Every year they plant trees and shrubs and sow tons of wildflower seeds to give Texas the most spectacular wildflower show of any state.
I am proud to be a member and volunteer at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center which showcases native plants from all regions of the state. Their mission is to restore, conserve and create healthy landscapes. We can do that by adding native plants to our own gardens.
Wildflowers bring incredible beauty to our gardens. Many survive without additional water and fertilizer and provide habitat for wildlife.
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| Bluebonnets, square-bud primrose,pink primrose,poppies and skullcap before the hail storm. |
Our foothill areas have masses of California poppies but we definitely don't have the widespread distribution of wildflowers I see in Texas, more's the pity. The front section of the Los Angeles Times even had a long piece on the famous Texas bluebonnets yesterday.
ReplyDeleteGreat post...Texas wildflowers are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteJenny, thank you for volunteering at the Wildflower Center! It's people like you that make the center so successful! Your love of our Texas wildflowers is very inspiring and your photos of them are beautiful! I drove to Fredericksburg recently and the drive on IH 10 was just breathtaking! I was so happy to see a lot of native milkweed on the road too. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteJenny: What a lovely photo. Your words are so apt but that image....it does speak volumes. I'm newly sold on square bud primrose...I'll be looking to add that to the mix here pronto!
ReplyDeleteI cannot imagine a better ambassadress (adopted daughter or not) for Texas and her native flowers. Your work and your spaces bear ample witness to the beauty (and toughness!) of Texas. As Lyle Lovett famously sings, "That's right - you're not from Texas - Texas loves you anyway!".
Absolutely wonderful! Such pics! I'm so impressed, and enjoy every photo.thanks for sharing all the awesome pictures in this series.. I hope the weather is good for you.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks beautiful and I am sure your visitors will love it. I am too far away or I would certainly be there.
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