The highways in Texas are blooming superbly

There is nothing like spring in Texas.

Mockingbirds lived in the wisteria-covered fence across the street and sang all day. House finches built nests under the roof of a covered TRN parking lot.

Parents were quick to take photos of their children in places where bluebonnets were already blooming. Late winter rains and warm temperatures gave them an early start and the state flower has now arrived in North Texas.

While bluebonnets (Lupinus texnesis) hold a prominent place on state roads, there is much more to see. On my way back from Odell, Texas, Monday I saw several spots on either side of Interstate 287 covered with a blanket of pink and white evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa).

Texas is home to more than 5,000 species of wildflowers. The Texas Highway Department has a wildflower program that sows 30,000 pounds of seeds each year. More than pretty, they conserve water, control erosion, and provide habitat for wildlife.

Nobody can count the number of tourists from across the country who visit the Lone Star State en route to see it bloom season after season.

It needs to be a little warmer for the bluebonnet’s companion, the Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) to appear, but there are plenty of other varieties worth looking for:

Drummond Phlox (Phlox Drummondia) has tiny flowers of red, pink, or purple on thin stems. It blooms in early spring.

Texas bluebells (Eustoma extaltatum) are rarely found; Too much picking almost made them die out. They come in shades of purple and bloom from June to September.

Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides) blooms from April through October and has become a drought-resistant favorite for natural landscapers. Cut back after freezing, they grow like shrubs, let go of them and can be trained to become small trees.

The milk thistle (Cirsium texanum) attracts bumblebees and butterflies, and dry seed heads feed birds. Can be seen on dry ground from April to August.

Brown-eyed Susan, Mexican hat, wine mug, bee balm, Blackfoot Dairy, Coreopsis, Prairie Fleabane, and Butterfly Weed are also on the list.

Natural beauty is something the late Lady Bird Johnson dedicated her life to. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, where wildflower seeds are available, is well worth a visit.

As a broke student on my way home just in time for Mother’s Day, I could only afford Texan wildflowers. With a pair of scissors and a jug full of water, I would stop where I could find something pretty.

It was worth climbing a rock wall to get Foxglove, a light purple flower that looks like an orchid.

While the myth that picking bluebonnets is illegal is not true, it is important to increase their numbers. While enjoying the view, do not step on it or sit on it. Like many other wildflowers, they are annuals that only return when they mature and re-sow.

For more information on various Texas wildflowers, with photos to help you identify them, times and locations when they bloom, or where seeds are available, visit www.texashighways.com/wildflowers, at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at www.wildflower .org or the Texas Native Plant Society website, http://npsot.org

Judith McGinnis can be reached at Judith.McGinnis@timesrecordnews.com or 940-763-7534