An Easter wildflower safari
The fields and roadsides of Texas are as brightly colored as a basket of Easter eggs. On Friday my mom, daughter, and I went on a wildflower safari southwest of San Antonio, cruising the country roads around Somerset. While the bluebonnets that far south had already peaked, we did see a few fields of blue, not to mention red, white, and yellow. Come along with me for a virtual Sunday drive, and enjoy the show.
What’s a safari without animals?
We stopped to admire this picturesque scene of a horse and pony grazing in a pasture spangled with wildflowers, mainly Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa).
Along one road we spotted Texas vervain (Verbena halei), a lovely wildflower I hadn’t encountered before.
Fields of Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), our state flower, are the holy grail of wildflower sightings, and this was the best one we saw, complete with an oil pump and tin-roofed farm buildings — a very Texas scene. The white flowers dotting the field like drifts of snow are…
…white prickly poppy (Argemone albiflora), my mom’s favorite.
They reminded her of fields of cotton.
My favorite combo is the red and blue of Indian paintbrush and bluebonnets.
Barbed wire fences add to the Texas scene, and it’s important not to cross them when viewing wildflowers, as the fields are generally located on private property.
But you can get nice views by shooting between the wire strands, especially if you use a telephoto lens.
The Indian paintbrush was simply spectacular everywhere we went.
Texas dandelion (Pyrrhopappus pauciflorus), against a field of red paintbrush
Along one dirt road, we found majestically spreading live oaks, with patchwork quilts of wildflowers spread around them.
More white prickly poppy, with Indian paintbrush and a few bluebonnets
Ah, my favorite combo
Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush
Paintbrush mingling with Texas dandelion
More
And more!
This paintbrush field (pictured above as well) surpassed any I’ve ever seen. Paintbrush as far as the eye could see.
Along with horses and cows, goats are a common sight in Texas fields. This one was curious and willing to pose for a picture.
What a floppy-eared cutie!
Happy Easter, kids!
All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
So beautiful – thanks for sharing!
Just stunning! Happy Easter!
The Indian Paintbrush are the prettiest and most abundant I’ve seen in years! It’s good to see them making a comeback! Your photos are awesome Pam! Happy Easter to you and yours!
So lovely, Pam. Thank you for sharing these photos. Happy Easter! 🙂
So pretty!
Happy Easter, Pam! Thanks for sharing all your beautiful wildflower pictures. The Indian Paintbrush are spectacular.
“Happy Easter, kids!”
Just. Plain. Gorgeous. Happy Easter, Pam.
Yeah for Texas wildflower and stunning photography. Happy Easter.
All the ingredients for the most iconic of Texan Spring photos. I’m happy to see paintbrush thriving – I’m not seeing much of that around Austin proper lately. And I always look because I’m with your Mom – the white prickly poppies are some of the prettiest flowers around. Perhaps I enjoy them all the more for their relative rarity.
Thanks for sharing!
My personal favorites are the Wine Cups, but you seldom see a whole spread of those.
Yes, that’s pretty unusual, Chris. I wonder why? —Pam
Absolutely fabulous photographs and articles for spring. Happy Easter.
Absolutely gorgeous! Happy Easter Pam!
Such sweet photos. Wish I’d been with you. Love your wildflowers. ~~Dee
Oh, no, ponies in wildflowers! I’m 10 years old again. Your mom’s favorite is mine too. Happy Easter to you and your clan, Pam.
Pastures with oaks, wildflowers, horses… heaven on earth. Thanks for a great Easter post!
Wow, beautiful! Thanks for the road trip. The flowers underneath Oaks, just perfect. No drought there? The hills here are already brown again.
Hoov, the drought has lessened in central, south, and east Texas. These areas had good winter rains, and when that happens, we generally get a nice wildflower show in spring. This has been one of the best springs in memory for all our flowering plants, although 2010 topped it for bluebonnets. —Pam
Love them all. Such color! I needed a color fix. Here the snowdrops are showing finally and there is still patchy and piled snow but it is melting. Happy Easter and thanks for the color.
Thanks for the beautiful photos-my favorite is the dirt road with flowers and fence along side:)
I loved the pix looking down the dirt road with the flowers to the right. Hope you had a Happy Easter.
Beautiful photos. My faves are the ones with the horses in them. What a picturesque place. Happy Easter…Happy Spring.
So glad you shared all this with us, Pam! Happy spring.
Pam, I’ve read your blog for years and never commented, but today I finally am. Thank you so much for these pictures. I have children who have grown up and left Texas for Iowa and North Carolina, and I sent them your URL to give them a little taste of home. While I’m at it, I’ll also say thank you for everything else in your blog. I’m not a native Texan, and you have helped me so much. I especially like your Drive-by Gardens feature.
Thank you, Jennifer, for your kind comment! Your note made my day. 🙂 —Pam
Perfect Easter Parade!