Wildflowers: Beauty in Bloom

by Guest Blogger Gayle Fetick

Upon moving to Texas years ago, I discovered wildflower photography. Previously, I had been photographing flowers in botanical gardens, but had not seen large fields of wildflowers along the highways and backroads until moving to Texas. It was awe-inspiring and over time, I learned quite a bit about our Texas wildflowers by joining a wildflower reporting group and looking up flowers I had discovered in Texas Wildflower books. Flowers are considered Wildflowers if they are native to the areas where they grow.

Wildflower season typically begins in early March in the southern areas of Texas and moves north over the next several weeks. This year it is expected to be delayed a few weeks due to the frigid temperatures along with snow and ice storms in mid-February. In order to have a good wildflower season, it is important to have rain in the fall, typically in September and October, so that the seeds germinate. It also helps to have some rain during the winter and spring.

2010 was one of the best years I have ever experienced for wildflower photography in Texas. The weather conditions were perfect with an El Nino weather pattern in the previous fall that lasted into spring. I spent my afternoons driving to locations in the Texas Hill Country and areas near San Antonio to find the beautiful wildflower fields over the years. Hill Country areas included Marble Falls; Willow City Loop; Johnson City; and Fredericksburg, as well as the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall. Areas I explored near San Antonio included Natalia, Lytle, Devine, New Berlin, Poteet, areas near I35 and Loop 1604 south of San Antonio, Stockdale, La Vernia, Somerset, Luling and Leon Springs. Other travels have taken us to Ennis, Marble Falls, the Brenham area and Bastrop during wildflower season. Brenham had large fields of Indian Paintbrush, Bluebonnets and Greenthread. I also photographed Texas Wild Petunia growing in one of the fields.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Ft. Worth Botanic Garden and the San Antonio Botanical Garden have beautiful displays of wildflowers in the spring and summer, too. There are nice parks in the DFW area for wildflower displays, such as Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, Oak Point Nature Preserve, Tandy Hills Natural Area and Ft. Worth’s Bluestem Park. Other state parks we have visited in the spring include McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Fredericksburg, Pedernales Falls State Park in Johnson City, Muleshoe Bend Recreation Area in Spicewood and McAllister and Eisenhower Parks in San Antonio. Inks Lake State Park in Burnet is another park in the Texas Hill Country that has wildflowers in the spring as does Cedar Hill State Park in Cedar Hill near Dallas. Wildflower displays can be found in smaller city parks throughout the state, too.

Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush can be found in all of these areas in early spring, and the Sandyland Bluebonnets grow south of San Antonio and look slightly different than Texas Bluebonnets, which are typically found from San Antonio up through the DFW area. The areas near San Antonio, especially south and east, have larger fields of wildflower mixtures and they can be quite colorful in a good year. Different varieties of Phlox, Coreopsis, Prickly Poppies, Texas Dandelions, Pink and Yellow Primrose, Greenthread, Blue Curls, Groundsel, Huisache Daisies, Verbena, Black Foot Daisies and Englemann’s Daisies create a beautiful palette of colors when mixed with Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush.

The Texas Hill Country wildflower patches can include some of these different wildflowers, along with Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush. I have also found Blue Eyed Grass, Red Flax, Fringed Puccoon, Spiderwort, Purple Paintbrush and Dewberry blooming in the DFW area. I have photographed a large area of Dewberry along the edge of a creek in Tarrant County, along with several fields of Pink Primrose. I have also seen Spiderwort blooming at Enchanted Rock State Park, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin and areas south of San Antonio. Also found Blue Eyed Grass in the Luling area. This area, along with Bastrop, have beautiful displays of Red Phlox in the spring. In addition to Wildflowers, flowering trees native to Texas, such as Texas Mountain Laurel, Texas Redbud, Creek Plum and Mexican Plum bloom early and have beautiful flowers.

Prickly Pear - Eisenhower Park, San Antonio

The next round of wildflower blooms typically starts in April and May, includes Indian Blankets (also known as Firewheels), Mexican Hats, Yellow Coneflowers, Purple Coneflowers, Mealy Blue Sage, Standing Cypress, Prairie Vervain, Horsemint, Black Eyed Susans, Antelope Horns, Prickly Pear Cactus, Claret Cup Cactus, Lantana, Milkweed, Red Yucca, Sensitive Briar, Thistle, Common Sunflowers, Prairie Clover, Texas Star, Winecups, Yucca, Basket Flowers, Prairie Bishop and many others. By early June, the Bluebell Gentian, which is one of my favorite wildflowers, starts to bloom. They are not always easy to find, but well worth the discovery due to their beauty. I have photographed them at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, Ft. Worth Bluestem Park, Ft. Worth and south of Austin. The Lady Johnson Wildflower Center also displays them in the summer.

By late summer and early fall, Snow on the Prairie, Goldenrod, Turk’s Cap, Asters, Plateau Agalinis (False Foxglove), Southern Marsh Fleabane and Maximillian Sunflowers bloom. The Ft. Worth Bluestem Park has a very nice display of these flowers, especially the Maximillian Sunflowers.

Although I have not yet been to Big Bend National Park or west Texas to photograph Texas Wildflowers, I have photographed desert wildflowers in Arizona, many of which are similar or the same as those in the desert region of Texas. Arizona Arroyo Lupines (Texas Bluebonnets are in the Lupine family) look very similar to photos I’ve seen of Bluebonnets in Big Bend National Park. California Poppies are native to California, Arizona and Texas desert areas and I have seen pictures of them in west Texas. Other Poppies that are found in gardens and parks in Texas are not Texas Wildflowers since they are not native to Texas.

Arizona has many Cactus varieties and several are also native to Texas, with the exception of the Saguaro Cactus, a tall plant that can grow to over 50 feet tall and is native to the Sonoran Desert. I have photographed Desert Marigolds and Ocotillos in the Phoenix/Tucson area and they are also found in West Texas. I have seen photos of them in Big Bend National Park. Others I have photographed in Arizona include Verbena, Fleabane, Penstemon, Spiderwort, Wild Rose, Desert Globe Mallow and Vervain, among others. Early March through April is the time period when most of the Arizona Wildflowers bloom. Fall rain is also important for a good bloom.

I have been to Colorado numerous times since 2003 and have discovered the beautiful wildflowers that bloom in the mountains from early summer into early fall. Adequate snowfall is important for a good wildflower bloom due to the snowmelt that occurs during the spring. I have witnessed two superblooms in 2017 and 2019 due to large amounts of winter snow. Lupines were covering the mountains and hillsides.

The Silvery Lupine is the most common Lupine in Colorado and is the taller version of the Texas Bluebonnet. Each year we have visited has had large blooms of certain wildflowers that may not bloom in large numbers in other years. We have witnessed large blooms of Lupines, Wyoming Paintbrush, Larkspur, Blue Flax, Blue Columbine, Penstemon and Sunflowers. These wildflowers bloom early in the season along with others, such as Fleabane, Common Cowparsnip, Elephant Head, Glacier Lilies, Harebells, Monkshoods, Long-Plumed Avens, Red Clover, Red Columbine, Sego Mariposa Lilies, Sneezeweed, Sticky Geraniums, Sulphur Paintbrush, Scarlett Gilia, Cinquefoil, Mountain Hollyhock and Wild Rose. Mixtures of these flowers can be found on the hillsides and are absolutely beautiful. It is a great year when one can experience a good bloom in Texas and another in Colorado a few months later. Later in the summer, different varieties of Sunflowers, Asters, Fireweed, Goldenrod, Gentians, and Yarrow bloom. Some will last into early fall. Colorado does have desert areas where Globeflowers, Prickly Pear and Prickly Poppies can be found. Alpine Wildflowers are those that are found at high elevations and I have photographed patches of them at Rocky Mountain National Park and the summit of Independence Pass near Aspen. I have photographed Colorado wildflowers in Crested Butte, Aspen, Maroon Bells Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Telluride, Beaver Creek, Vail, Frisco and Breckenridge over the years.

Many western states have Lupines that bloom in the spring or summer, whether they have desert terrain or lush mountain areas. Alaska and the northern states along the East Coast also have Lupines. These Lupines are similar to those I have found in Colorado. We have been to Acadia National Park in Maine and photographed a few wildflowers in early fall. I would like to return in the summer to photograph Lupines and other early blooming wildflowers.

Planting native wildflowers in your yard will bring beautiful blooms and plenty of pollinators. Native wildflowers do well as compared to other flowers that are not native to the area. We have planted numerous native Texas wildflowers in our yard, including Lantana, Black Eyed Susans, Purple Cone Flowers, Salvia, Sage, Milkweed, Turk’s Cap and Blackfoot Daisies. These flowers have done very well, attracted pollinators and provided good photo opportunities during the spring, summer and fall.

Although I have photographed numerous fields of wildflowers in Texas, I discovered Macro Photography in recent years and enjoy photographing wildflowers close up and have used macro lenses, telephoto lenses and Lensbaby lenses. I look for a simple or blurred background and like the bokeh effect, too. The Lensbaby Velvet creates a nice creamy background at the lower apertures as does a macro or telephoto lens with a 2.8 or lower aperture. I like for the flower to stand out against the background and find the flower’s focal point for focus, such as the stamen or the side of the flower. I use the spot focus setting on autofocus lenses and focus peaking on manual focus lenses to get sharp focus on the focal point. I also take photos of flower groupings with a higher aperture so that all flowers are in focus. Macro Photography takes a lot of patience and practice, but it is very rewarding. Finding subjects in the yard is good practice. One of my favorite macro photography scenarios is finding raindrops, ice or snow on the plants. Flowers are beautiful after a nice rain or drizzle.

Enjoy finding Texas wildflowers this spring and I hope you find great photo opportunities. In my opinion, it is the best time of year.

Gayle Fetick resides in Keller, Texas. Her passion is flower photography, especially with her macro lens. If wildflowers are in season, you will find her roaming the backroads looking for fields of color. Other times, she can be found exploring local botanical gardens. Gayle is a member of Texas and World Wildflower Facebook pages that share images and reports on what’s blooming throughout the year. You can connect with her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/gaylefetickphotos/.

Wildflowers: Beauty in Bloom by Gayle Fetick

Wildflowers: Beauty in Bloom

by Guest Blogger Gayle Fetick

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