Wildflower superbloom south of San Antonio
Is Texas experiencing a superbloom of wildflowers this spring? It’s certainly the best display I’ve seen since the epic flowering of 2010. Following a mild and wetter than normal winter, bluebonnets have burst into bloom several weeks early, turning roadsides and fields azure. Indian paintbrush have joined the show too, adding splashes of coral-red.
Wednesday night I was reading wildflower-spotting updates at Texas Wildflower Report. Peak bloom south of San Antonio, scouts reported. No matter that a list of chores awaited me at home. Wildflowers wait for no one, and it’s a superbloom!
I mapped out a drive based on their reports and hit the road early Thursday morning, Cosmo in the back seat hanging his head out the window. We barreled southwest to La Vernia and then west to Poteet, where I cruised the country roads south of San Antonio, looking for big splashes of color. And boy, did I find them.
From rural front yards turned into a Red Sea of paintbrush…
…to horse pastures of ocean blue…
…to fields in a patchwork quilt of color, wildflowers are at peak bloom along Highways 87, 539, 536, and 1470. Start mapping out your Sunday drive now.
On Thursday morning, I had the roads nearly to myself, just an occasional pickup truck rattling by. I spotted no other photographers, as I often do when on wildflower safari in the Hill Country west of Austin.
On quiet roads, it’s easy to pull over and stop for photos, making sure to stay off private property, never crossing a fence, and watching out for fire ants and snakes. (Wear your boots.)
For photography, it’s no use shooting a pretty field with a backdrop of ugly buildings, cars, or power lines. Change your angle (move left or right, or perhaps crouch down) to capture a backdrop that enhances or at least doesn’t distract from the wildflower display that caught your eye.
The tart green of new leaves sets off colorful flowers, and rustic barns and cedar-post fences add country flavor.
Long rural driveways beckoning from the highway, yellows and purples and reds lining the tire tracks, make a pretty composition.
What a beautiful drive home for some lucky person.
Live oaks shedding last year’s gold-tinged leaves and clothing themselves in fresh green stand majestically in fields of flowers.
The three graces
Closeups reveal details, like a single white prickly poppy amid bluebonnets, pink phlox, and yellow something.
Or a black swallowtail butterfly enjoying the flowers.
The sweet scent of golden-flowering huisache perfumed my open-windowed car.
They are gorgeous in bloom…
…especially with bluebonnets to complement the yellows.
Lilac wands of Texas vervain (Verbena halei)
As I took pictures of this field, breathing in the sweet fragrance of acres of bluebonnets on both sides of the road, a minibus rumbling toward me came to a sudden stop on the empty highway. I looked over, figuring it was a tour bus of wildflower peepers.
I kept snapping, and in a minute the bus rolled up to me and the driver stuck her head out the window. “So many bluebonnets!” she shouted joyously. I smiled up at her, noticing the minibus was empty and it was just her. “I know! They’re beautiful!” I shouted back. Sometimes the obvious is all you can think to say when you are sharing a moment with a stranger.
Indian paintbrush
Bluebonnets and white prickly poppies
Live oak and bluebonnets
Indian paintbrush with a splash of bluebonnets
Among several spectacular fields of Indian paintbrush, the Mann spread (see what I did there?) caught my eye with a unique gate of red wagon wheels.
The perfect accent for a field of paintbrush
Which came first, I wonder: the wildflowers or the red wagon wheels?
Cosmo loves a car ride and feeling the wind in his fur. His nose was twitching the whole drive, sniffing the air for whatever a dog can detect, which I suspect is a whole lot more than sweet-smelling wildflowers.
We stopped at a Whataburger for lunch, and the young woman at the drive-through window laughed when she caught sight of his shaggy head and asked if a hamburger was for him. “You bet,” I said. “Will he eat the whole thing or just the patty?” she asked. “Oh, I expect the whole thing,” I said. She looked impressed. It’s true that Cosmo is a small dog, but still. A plain hamburger and bun is a moment’s work for this pooch.
A few more confetti-colored wildflower fields, and it was time to head for home.
What a show! I hope to see more in a week or two in the Hill Country, if favorable conditions hold.
But maybe it would be pushing my luck to even try. This was an epic wildflower safari, and I’m glad I played hooky from my to-do list to see it.
For more wildflowers, and a somber remembrance, see tomorrow’s post about wildflowers at Sutherland Springs Cemetery.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
We call that strip of flowers between the tire tracks a middelmannetjie.
I wonder if Afrikaans is the only language to have a name for that.
And what a name it is! I don’t think we have a name for that strip here in the U.S. — a missed opportunity, clearly.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Nothing prettier than those fields of flowers and thanks for the hints on how to taker a good photo. I love the one with the dirt road. I feel bummed that we went to San Antonio last week with the family on a different mission!! It seems the flowers are all to the south as yet nothing out to Marble Falls. I hope I get the chance to see some of those super blooms.
“…on a different mission” — a Spanish mission-exploring trip in S.A., perhaps? 🙂
OMGosh! That was incredible and I was looking at photos. It must have been stunning in person.
It sure was, Gail. But of course I’ve shared the best views here. The payoff was grand in person, but it was also more spread out, with plenty of non-flowering fields along the way. Just keeping it real!
The superbloom in California hit the headlines in the UK this week. The Texan version needs to get there too. Wonderful photos Pam, thanks for letting us come on the trip with you
Both states are famous for their spring wildflowers, but California is happily recovered from years of drought, which must make its superbloom feel even more miraculous. The Texas show is all over the news here. You’ll have to let me know if bluebonnet news makes it to the U.K.
Wow! So wonderful. Thanks for sharing your views.
Thanks for your comment, Lisa. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Arrrrrgh the delight of sausage fingers and a tiny keyboard! Superbloom and California!
Hah, let’s blame the keyboard! I corrected the typos, so not to worry. They were funny though. 😉 Duperbloom!
Thanks Pam 🙂
So grateful you went for it, and took us along! A brilliant day in many ways.
What’s the fragrance of huisaches (Acacia smallii)? I know it can be hard to find the words for scents sometimes, and I’m a more difficult case due to never having experienced any Acacia in bloom.
The absolute blue of the ‘bonnets is a perfect complement for them.
It is SO difficult to describe a fragrance. I guess I would call it a honey-sweet fragrance. One online source describes it as a light-sweet (non-cloying) fragrance reminiscent of violets or orange blossoms. Hmm, I’m not sure about that, but I can say it’s a lovely scent.
A superbloom without traffic and people crushing flowers to get selfies – that’s heaven! Maybe the folks in Lake Elsinore need a sign pointing tourists to Texas 😉 I love all the varied colors, especially the deep blues.
Texans get riled up when people trample wildflowers, but it definitely happens along roadsides, where people will wade in to get photos of their kids and dogs among the flowers. The advantage of viewing flowers in fenced-off fields like these is that no one crosses the fence, so no trampled flowers. In theory, anyway. There is a very popular wildflower drive in the Hill Country called the Willow City Loop, and homeowners and ranch owners along the route have gotten fed up with visitors who ignore fences and No Trespassing signs. Still, the roads are publicly owned, so as long as you stay off private property you can feast your eyes.
What a marvelous opportunity for you, especially since you appeared to not have to share your viewfinder with others. Wonderful photos!
Thanks, Les!
Oh Pam! These photos were just wonderful. I enjoyed them so much, and the narrative of your day out as well. Almost as good as being there feasting my eyes and eating a burger with you and Cosmo.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Alison!
Wow, what fantastic photos! Thanks so much for sharing the experience with us, Pam. It *definitely* makes me want to get out this spring. I was waiting for a Cosmo photo…what willpower you have!
Ha! It was all about the wildflowers this trip. 🙂
Wow. Just wow. The wildflowers are in super bloom and your photos are gorgeous. Reading your post and soaking in your pics was as relaxing as meditation. I’ll bet it was a treat for Cosmo, too!
He thought the ride and Whataburger were pretty grand. 🙂
My daughter, Rachel, and I oohed and aahed over your gorgeous photos. I love the huisache blooms/bluebonnet combination, too–like a Monet painting come to life. We are seeing a scattering of wildflowers here in Dripping Springs, including in our yard, but not the oceans of beauty you encountered, at least not yet. I think the peak is yet to come here. Looks like it’s time for me to scout out a bluebonnet photo spot for the kids.
I hope Dripping Springs (soon to be Pound Town?) will get a bumper crop this year too. Austin is having a very good show along the roadsides. I keep hoping to hear about conditions in the Hill Country west of Austin, but right now it seems the best show is still south of San Antonio.
This was awesome! Thank you for sharing all these gorgeous photos.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I am deeply in awe of this beauty, and think that I’d weep if I saw it in person. How lucky you are to live there!
Robin, we do enjoy a lovely spring here in Texas. It makes up somewhat for our summers. I’m grateful to Lady Bird Johnson for all her work to promote Texas wildflowers.