Time to stop and smell the ... bluebonnets!

Springtime in Texas is a gorgeous thing. There may be parts about living in this state that I am not a fan of (mosquitos the size of horses I am looking at you) but what I do love? Springtime!

While it never gets cold enough here to have the trees die in winter and bloom back to life like much of the east coast does. Washington D.C. (my previous locale) even had a corner on spring with their gorgeous cherry blossom trees and Cherry Blossom Festival (if you live near DC and haven't experienced it you really need to! It's almost over!). But despite all of these lovely spring events, central Texas does have it beat in my opinion.

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush on the roadside

Quick history factoid! Lady Bird Johnson believed in the beautification of our national roads and cities. When she retired from being First Lady and went back home to Texas, she started an initiative to reintroduce native plants back into the Texas landscapes, specifically native wildflowers, all along the roadsides. It is because of Lady Bird Johnson that spring in central Texas is as gorgeous as it is. There are fields of wildflowers blooming all around. Not just outside the city, but even just a small little patch of grass along the side of the road inside the state capital will be overrun with orange and blue and white from gorgeous wildflowers.

Seen not in person but a field of flowers anyways. See, told you they were
really, really pretty!

Right here is why I love spring in Texas. So many brightly coloured flowers and fields everywhere I go.  It turns what would normally be an average commute looking at dull and occasionally dingy road sides into a much more vibrant experience.

And it isn't just a few flowers here and there, no there are whole fields and meadows covered in the flowers. Going from where you stand to the horizon in blues and whites, reds and oranges and yellows. It can be absolutely breathtaking when seen in person.


All of the flowers really make me want to pull my car over and go and frolic through a meadow. Preferably in a dress. With small woodland creatures singing around me as I run. 

Which may have been what my friends and I did.

Last weekend we took advantage of the amazing weather (and my awesome camera) to get out and take some pictures of the flowers. Despite being in the city, it wasn't hard at all for us to find a great location with a bunch of bluebonnets. These pictures were actually taken up near Round Rock, right outside of Dell's main facility.

And we weren't the only ones enjoying the scenery! There were a bunch of people wandering through the flowers, taking family photos and enjoying the spring weather. If you're in the central Texas area and looking to get out and see some of the flowers, check here for a great listing of locations as well as how the blooms are doing (this is another great site for updates on local wildflower locations).