Looking for a great weekend outing for the family? Come see the wildflowers in Texas in the spring. The highway medians and hillsides are full of color – bright red, yellow and blue, pink and cream – but you better look out because cars are always pulling off the side of the highway to ogle and take photographs.
It’s a tradition to get in your car in the spring and go look at the wildflowers. Nearly everyone in Texas has a photo of their kids in the bluebonnets.
BLUEBONNETS
Typically, in my photo album there’s a photo of me in the bluebonnets taken by my grandmother, a photo of my sons in the bluebonnets, taken by me, and a photo of my granddaughter in the bluebonnets taken by my daughter-in-law.
Bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas grow all over the Texas Hill Country, from San Antonio up to Dallas and for two weekends in April people come from all around for what has become one of central Texas’ major events.
“Don’t be surprised,” says an article in the Austin Statesman “to see 30 to 40 cars pulled off the road at some spots, with children squatting in neck-high fields of lupinus, better known as bluebonnets, smiling for the family camera.”
In fact it’s such an event, there are some hotlines you can call that track sightings of wildflowers that will tell you the best places. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center ( http://www.wildflower.org ) is one – 512-832-4037, and another resource is Texas Department of Transportation – 1-800-452-9292 - which provides tourism information and also the option to hear reports on wildflower sightings throughout the state.
WIDLSEED FARMS
When you come, plan your trip to include WildSeed Farms (http://www.wildseedfarms.com ), the largest working wildflower seed farm in the U. S.
I discovered the farm as I was on my way to visit LYNDON B. JOHNSON STATE PARK and HISTORIC SITE, which is between Fredericksburg and Johnson City. I was driving along the highway, and all of a sudden cars were swerving, stopping, pulling over, and heading back. There on my left were the beautiful gardens full of brilliant color, and I joined in, pulling over and heading back. Equidistant from Junction, San Antonio and Austin, Texas, and seven miles east of Fredericksburg, WildSeed Farm is on highway 290 and open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For a map go here - http://www.wildseedfarms.com/farm_map.html . They will hold their Wildflower Celebration April 4th through April 17th, which should the peak of the season.
While there, visit The Meadows, including a butterfly house, display gardens and education walking trails. The kids (and you) can learn more about a real working farm, and then visit the market Center building complex with its retail center, BrewBonnet Biergarten (beer, wine or soft drinks, ice cream, German tacos and snacks), Garten Haus (houseplants) and the Blumen Haus (fresh cut flowers).
There’s plenty of room for the kids to run around, and when else can they see a working wildflower seed farm? For more information call 1-800-848-0078 or visit them on the web. Do be aware that I’m sorry to say their photographs do not do justice to what you will see in person if you hit the Texas highways in April.
This part of Texas is filled with quaint shops and historical places, excellent food, and a welcome attitude toward tourists. There are innumerable attractions to visit in the area, but I’ll mention one if you’re especially interested in flowers.
ANTIQUE ROSE EMPORIUM
Be sure and visit the Antique Rose Emporium ( http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com ) in San Antonio, 7561 Evers Road, 210-651-4565, open daily. Tour the grounds and the beautiful displays garden and pick up some hardy antique roses for your own garden.
On the spring calender for them are the following. Fore more information call Robbi at 210-651-4565: April 23, An Herb Affair, 1-4 p.m. The Comal Master Gardeners will give demonstrations, recipes, samples and ideas.
April 30, Children’s Day in the Garden, 1-4 p.m. This time the Bexar County Master Gardeners are incharge with hands-on fun and educational activities with garden and outdoor themes for the little ones.
While in the area, in San Antonio you’ll find the ALAMO, SEAWORLD, FIESTA TEXAS, MISSION TRAIL, and the RIVERWALK.
AUSTIN AREA
Over in Austin, the state capital, you’ll find 42 more acres of wildflowers at LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER RANCH (http://www.wildflower.org/ ) and the beautiful UMLAUF SCULTURE GARDEN & MUSEUM (http://www.umlaufsculpture.org/ ), one of my favorites for a quiet afternoon.
Umlauf, whose works are featured in the Smithsonian Institutition and N. Y.’s Metropolitan Museum, taught art at UT and donated his home, studio and many works to the city of Austin which created the museum. Look among the statues for the face of his former UT student, Farah Fawcett. An exceptionally peaceful and beautiful sculpture garden!
While there, visit BARTON SPRINGS ( http://www.tec.org/bartonsprings/5Ws.html ) a 1,000 foot long natural limestone pool fed by several underground springs, situated in ZILKER PARK (http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/zilker ) and ride the Zilker Eagle train, and enjoy the huge playscape and 400 acres of sports fields and woodlands.
Then for more scenery, take the HILL COUNTRY FLYER, a steam locomotive SP 786 manned by volunteers. There are 1-hour trips through Austin, a 33-mile ride from Cedar Park (north of Austin) to Burnet through the Hill Country and special event rides, such as murder-mystery excursions. Call 512-477-8468 for more information.
Also for the kids, there are zoos in both San Antonio and Austin. If you choose the Dallas area, give photographer Kelly Dunn of JustImagineInc a call ( http://www.justimagineinc.com ). Book your bluebonnet photography session early. She's very popular.
BAT EGRESS
And last, but not least, to make this a memorable excursion for the kids, there's the BAT EGRESS. This is something you won't see all the time. Every evening from March until early November, 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats emerge from their roosts under the Congress Avenue Bridge in downtown Austin on their nightly forage for food. Go here for directions - http://www.batcon.org/discover/congress.html .
There’s plenty of parking, restaurants nearby, a souvenir stand (yes, t-shirts!) but no public restrooms or concessions.
They usually fly out at dusk and yes, there’s a hotline. Call 512-416-5700 (category 3636) for the latest flight times.
Here is a picture of the people waiting - http://www.batcon.org/discover/cab14-sm.jpg , and here go the bats - http://www.batcon.org/discover/cab08-sm.jpg .
Trust me, you have never seen anything like it, and it is guaranteed to render all age groups speechless. It’s very silent. It is also VERY creepy. (And remember, you can look but you better not touch.)
Y’all come now, y'hear?
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