Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Gee, ask us an easy one, like how to have world peace. Or cheap gasoline. Nature is a law unto itself, and predictions are risky, to say the least. Officially, the peak bloom of bluebonnets in Central Texas is in mid-April. They are winter annuals, with the first green rosettes appearing in January, and earliest blooms sometimes in late February. As you no doubt know, 2007 was a banner year for bluebonnets, with rains the previous Fall and again in the late Winter and early Spring, all just the right time. We had a moist, cool Spring and early Summer, and the blooms not only started early, they were profuse and lingered late. In 2008, they seem to have vanished. West of Austin, there was so little rain that wildflowers were few and far between, with bluebonnets not even appearing in many places. In Austin, it wasn't much better, and we were recommending that people wanting to see fields of blue should go east toward Brenham, but even there, they felt the conditions.

We realize you can't wait and see what the weather conditions are this Fall and Winter, so schedule your reunion for mid-March to mid-April, and as the time gets closer, consult these websites to see what the forecasts for the wildflower season are and best spots for bluebonnet viewing.

Wildflower Center website always has information on what's blooming, and will have blubonnet forecasts in the Spring. Several other groups provide information on sightings and routes for viewing wildflowers. One of these is Lonestar Internet, Inc. You can find more routes and information at the Texas Hill Country Wildflower Trail web site. DeWitt County offers its own wildflower site as does Brenham, Texas in Washington County. On the Brenham page, select "Visitor Information", then "Nature Watch" to find their information on wildflowers.