The beautiful bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) is the official state flower of Texas, voted on by members of the state legislature in 1901. It is actually a member of the lupine family, but in Texas, we don't care. It is our beloved bluebonnet, the most prized of all the wild flowers that pop up during the warm Texas spring.
Thanks to Ladybird Johnson, the wife of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, both natives of central Texas, the fields and roadsides of our state are covered in blooms during March and April. For 20 years, starting in 1969, she emphasized the beautification of Texas roads and highways, giving awards to highway districts that did outstanding jobs of using native Texas plants and flowers in their landscaping.
The Texas Department of Transportation also has a passion for wild flowers, seeding over 30,000 pounds of wild flowers every year. Then, in the spring, they suspend mowing the sides of roadways for a couple of months to allow the plants to flourish and reseed.
Because of the focus on wild flowers, the highways and byways are filled with beautiful blooms at this time of the year. The bluebonnet fields are especially lovely, with waves of blue covering the ground.
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