Texas Wildflowers And Where To Find Them

Texas Wildflowers And Where To Find Them

There is something about driving along Texas highways and catching a glimpse of beautiful wildflowers on the side of the road. If you’re lucky, wildflowers will be everywhere, making your drive scenic. Early spring is when Texas wildflowers start sprouting their colors all over the Lone Star State – in more areas than some. There are over 5,000 species of wildflowers, but the most common ones are bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, pink evening primrose, Indian blankets, brown-eyed Susan, and a few more. Let’s delve into Texas wildflowers and where to find them.

When it’s wildflower season, everyone wants to know one thing.

Where are all the Texas wildflowers?

Texas Wildflowers And Where To Find Them

Be in the know …

The Texas Legislature made the Texas bluebonnet (all varieties) The Official State Flower of Texas years ago and deemed Ennis, Texas, The Official Bluebonnet City of Texas.

Wildflowers In Texas

Let me help you find those flowers that grow wild in Texas. As you plan your wildflower drive, look out for these Texas wildflowers along the way. Many of them are in our state parks and small towns. You also may want to look for Texas festivals and events or Texas Bluebonnet Festivals as you plan your trip.

• Indian Blanket – the blanket flower
• Texas Bluebonnets
• Pink Evening Primrose are tiny pink flowers or, as I call them – buttercups.
• Purple Coneflower
• Indian Paintbrushes
• Black-eyed Susans
• Mexican Hat
• Species of milkweed
• Blue-eyed grass
• Prairie Verbena
• Pink Ladies
• Butterfly Weed
• Goldeneye Phlox
• Purple Poppy Mallow

Red Poppies

Central Texas

Georgetown (north of Austin)

If you love the color red, you’ll love visiting Georgetown, Texas, in April. That’s when little red poppies spring up all over town, showing off their vibrant red color. It’s also when the town’s Red Poppy Festival starts. Mark your calendar for this wildflower trail and the festival on April 28-30, 2023.

Bouquet of Texas wildflowers: evening primroses (buttercups), bluebonnets and yellow flowers

Texas Hill Country

Known for many things –mild weather, scenic drives, windy roads, wine, and wildflowers, the Texas Hill Country is a choice place many visit for all this and more. The Willow City Loop in Fredericksburg is the perfect drive to see the wildflowers.

Wildflowers are all over the hill country. It’s your lucky day if you take a road trip there.

A few places to visit while in the area to learn more about Texas wildflowers and to pick up Texas gifts are Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin and Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg.

Be sure not to miss driving to Inks Lake State Park, where you’ll find a lot of Texas bluebonnets and other wildflowers.

There are so many places in the hill country to visit while you’re there looking for fields of wildflowers. It’s my favorite place to be!  Also, you may want to visit Lyndon B. Johnson State Park in Johnson City to see his childhood home.

If going to the hill country through Marble Falls, on Hwy 281, make a stop in the Blue Bonnet Cafe for a great breakfast and all sorts of homemade pies. Their breakfasts are huge and at a great price, and the pies, well, you’ll have to see for yourself!

Speaking of Marble Falls – catch the wildflower scene on FM 1431 east toward Balcones Canyonlands, FM 2342, and Park Road 4.

Just outside Llano on Hwy 16 (in April), look for a field of white prickly poppies. A photographer who photographed the area calls it “Country Gold” because it’s a pretty gold color when the sun is just over the horizon and shines through the trees and on the flowers.

Catch up on the scenic routes in the Texas Hill Country.

South Texas

Big Ben Country

Big Bend is where you can enjoy nature all day long, and when the wildflowers or desert blooms, as some call it, come out to play, it’s all the better. Drives through Alpine, Terlingua, Presidio, and Marfa all provide scenic views, and if you go for hikes at Big Bend National Park  – it’s almost a must-do when in the area.

No matter where you start, watch for blind cactus, rainbow cactus, strawberry pitaya, ocotillo, yucca, and desert marigold.

San Antonio

San Antonio Botanical Garden is an excellent source to see and learn about our native flowers. Along the way, look for bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, pink evening primroses, and winecups. These four are the most popular and easiest to find on our Texas Highways.

If visiting Galveston this spring, drive the wildflower route in West Columbia, Angleton, Lake Jackson, and Brazoria, and then spend the rest of the day at the beach. Sounds good to me. Be on the lookout for spider lily, black-eyed Susan, bluebonnets, and wild indigo.

Bluebonnets at Lake Ennis

East Texas

Washington County

The 80-mile round-trip circuit through Washington County (Brenham, Burton, Independence, Washington, Chappell Hill) has blankets of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, thistles, purple coneflower, verbena, and many more beautiful wildflowers. If you time your trip perfectly, you can catch the bluebonnet festival in Chappell Hill.

Davy Crockett National Forest

If you start your journey in Nacogdoches, you’ll drive through the Davy Crockett National Forest, where you could spend most of the day just wandering around the forest. But get back in your car to see more wildflowers in Crockett and Palestine. Look for beautiful dogwood trees, redbud trees, winecups, and bluebonnets. But before leaving Palestine, may I suggest going to Davey Dogwood Park to see the fairy gardens. Locals make these little fairy houses and can only use (or suppose to) things they find in nature. I saw it last year, and it was all so darling. If you stick around, you can enjoy all the festivities during the Texas Dogwood Trails Celebration.

Ennis, Texas

Ennis, TX, is only about 1-1/2 hours east of Dallas. And the drive there is impeccable in the spring. When you arrive in Ennis, go by the visitor center and pick up a bluebonnet trails guide – it will show you the way to the beautiful fields of bluebonnets and other wildflowers. I made this trail last year and was so impressed with the bluebonnets I saw, I’ll probably go back this year.

Indian Blankets

North Texas

Tri-Cities

This 40-mile triangle route through the tri-cities (Linden, Avinger, & Hughes Springs) will show you beautiful yellow fringed orchids, coreopsis, Indian paintbrush, phlox, and other wildflowers. Going further on Highways 43 & 49 towards Marshall, you see even more wildflowers. Look for coneflower, dogwoods, field pansies, bachelor buttons, and bluebonnets.