You don't have to be from Texas to know that bluebonnets signal the start of spring. Sure these wildflowers are beautiful, but did you know they also have a rich history?
Don't miss them! Plan a spring trip to North Texas to catch sight of these blue beauties. But act fast—their time is fleeting.
Chappell Hill is also known for their wildflowers and proudly hosts the Official State of Texas Bluebonnet Festival each year.
The National Society of Colonial Dames proposed this idea by sending a painting of a bluebonnet in bloom to legislators.
Naming the state flower of Texas was actually a furious debate. Many men on the legislature favored the cactus or cotton boll."The men being gentlemen basically ceded to the wishes of the women and that is how the 'bluebonnet' became the state flower," Flo Oxley, program coordinator at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, told the Houston Chronicle.
And yes, they're all bluebonnets! Different species, to be exact. After initially naming the Lupinus subcarnosus as the state flower, further debate emerged when people discovered that another species existed. "They solved the problem [in 1961] by basically writing legislation that said those two species plus any other that happened to show up in the future would come under the umbrella of the state flower," Flo Oxley told the Houston Chronicle. Today, this includes Lupinus subcarnosus, Lupinus texensis, Lupinus havardii, Lupinus concinnus, Lupinus plattensis, and Lupinus perennis.
Wildflower expert Elias Guerro, shared his secret for growing these blue beauties with MySanantonio.com: Freeze the seeds for a week, then put them in a jar full of hot tap water and let the seeds soak for up to 48 hours until they're germinated. There's no need to plant the seeds, just spread them out over your garden in fall and they'll be blooming by spring.
Bluebonnets germinate in the fall when it rains, then winter's snowfall helps insulate them. So if you want to see bluebonnets by spring, spread your seed in September or October.
If there's not enough rain, seeds will remain dormant. If you're looking out your window at a field of bluebonnets, chances are many of them were planted a few years ago.
This process of delayed germination makes the flowers surprisingly tolerant of adverse conditions like drought. In fact, they can easily die from overwatering.
While most people envision the indigo wildflower when thinking of bluebonnets, they can be found in white and shades of pink and purple. Horticulturists have developed colored strains of bluebonnets with the goal of planting the flowers in the shape of the Texas state flag as well.
When maroon-colored bluebonnets started springing up at the University of Texas at Austin's campus, many suspected prankster Aggies were to blame.
After the Texas Highway Department was organized in 1917, officials noticed that bluebonnets were the first vegetation to appear at roadside cuts and fills. They then started maintaining the flowers, which included delaying mowing until early summer. [link href="http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/division/maintenance/wildflower-program.html" target="_blank" link_updater_label="external"]The Texas Department of Transportation now buys and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflowers each year.
While people flock to fields of wildflowers for photo shoots, there are dangers hiding behind those pretty petals. If ingested, bluebonnets are poisonous, so be careful to keep them out of the reach of kids.
In "The Legend of the Pink Bluebonnet," two children playing outside spot a pink and a white bluebonnet. They ask their grandmother why the flowers are different colors, and she responds that the white one represents the Lone Star and the pink flower honors the brave soldiers who lost their lives at the Alamo, according to Austin.com.
Locals say the flowers were originally white, but turned pink when the river was red with blood after the battle of the Alamo.
"Bluebonnets" was adopted in 1933. You can find the lyrics here.
"The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland," wrote historian Jack Maguire.