Every spring the highways and fields of Texas are covered in a blanket of blue. If you ask any Texan about the bluebonnets, they will not simply tell you the name and move on. You will get a story or better yet photos. Young children, families and couples all pose every spring among the lupines to capture yet another springtime memory. The bluebonnet is not just some wildflower on the side of the road. It is a flower that represents the grand state of Texas and all it's rich history.

Bluebonnets have been loved since man first trod the vast prairies of Texas. Indians wove fascinating folk tales around them. The early-day Spanish priests gathered the seeds and grew them around their missions. This practice gave rise to the myth that the padres had brought the plant from Spain, but this cannot be true since the two predominant species of bluebonnets are found growing naturally only in Texas and at no other location in the world.

As historian Jack Maguire so aptly wrote, "It's not only the state flower but also a kind of floral trademark almost as well known to outsiders as cowboy boots and the Stetson hat." He goes on to affirm that "The bluebonnet is to Texas what the shamrock is to Ireland, the cherry blossom to Japan, the lily to France, the rose to England and the tulip to Holland."

The ballad of our singing governor, the late W. Lee O'Daniel, goes, "you may be on the plains or the mountains or down where the sea breezes blow, but bluebonnets are one of the prime factors that make the state the most beautiful land that we know.

A little corny, but so great. If you'd like to read more, some Aggies have posted a nice description and instructions on how to grow your own
here.

I took these two photos last week at the end of my commute home from school. This was my first sighting of the flower this season! Enjoy the roadside. I'm sure you are jealous of how much time I get to spend in the car everyday enjoying the bonnets of blue.