When I think springtime at Cordillera Ranch and the Texas Hill Country, I think of bluebonnets.
Forecasters are calling for spring 2019 to be one of most colorful in recent memory due to fabulous fall and winter rains. The countryside should be covered with Texas Bluebonnets, other wildflowers, blooming Mountain Laurel, Crape Myrtle and sage, and just about every shade of green imaginable as native grasses and trees come back to life.
So here’s a little more information about the Texas state flower. According to the Texas State Historical Association, on March 7, 1901, the Twenty-seventh Texas Legislature adopted the bluebonnet, flower of the annual legume Lupinus subcarnosus, as the state flower. On March 8, 1971, the legislation was amended to include Lupinus texensis and “any other variety of bluebonnet not heretofore recorded.” At least four other species of bluebonnet grow in Texas: L. havardii, L. concinnus, L. perennis, and L. plattensis. Contrary to various folk stories and legends claiming that the plant originated outside the state, L. texensis and L. subcarnosus are native to Texas. God bless Texas!
In 1933 the legislature adopted a state flower song, “Bluebonnets,” written by Julia D. Booth and Lora C. Crockett. Also in the 1930s, the Texas Highway Department began a landscaping and beautification program and extended the flower’s range. Due largely to that agency’s efforts, bluebonnets now grow along most major highways throughout the state.
The flower usually blooms in late March and early April and is found mostly in limestone outcroppings from north central Texas to Mexico. Although early explorers failed to mention the bluebonnet in their writings, Indian lore called the flower a gift from the Great Spirit. Whatever the origin, the bluebonnet continues to be a favorite subject for artists and photographers. I think it’s a rite of passage to photograph pets, kids and families in blue jeans and bluebonnets.
We’re lucky to have many areas in and around Cordillera Ranch to view bluebonnets along the hillsides, highways and byways of our daily travels. If you’ve been putting off a trip to the Texas Hill Country and Cordillera Ranch, make your reservations now for a late March to early April visit. If you’re already here and looking for an afternoon getaway, think about Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Wine & Wildflower Journey via Texas Hill Country Wineries or the annual Bluebonnet Festival in Burnet (referenced later in this issue).
Don’t take for granted this special part of the world during this special time of year. Enjoy what is sure to be a colorful spring… and take time to smell the flowers along the way.
Barry Denton
Director of Real Estate Sales
Cordillera Ranch
