Oh those bountiful blues!
We are having a GREAT time in the bluebonnets! They’ve been slower to bloom than last year, but they are coming all the same.
I have opened up a second weekend for portraits. (Click to see schedule.) I haven’t even photographed my OWN girls in the flowers yet!
These shots were all taken last weekend. The photograph of the triplets has been rendered as a painting instead of a simple photograph, one of my favorite techniques with bluebonnets. I inserted a close up as well, so you could see the detail. These make ideal enlargements for fireplaces or dining rooms or entry ways—classic, timeless, and a sweet memory of our children when they were little.
A little history: the bluebonnet officially became the state flower in 1901. The name comes from its resemblance to a woman’s bonnet. The two primary species of bluebonnets grow natively in Texas and nowhere else in the world.
Bluebonnet seeds are carefully made by nature to only germinate 20% of the time. This way, if one year is bad for the blooms, the majority of the seeds are still waiting in the ground for the next season. This is why the patches cannot be predicted. Too much rain in the spring is actually bad for bluebonnets, as they rot easily, although extra rain in the fall is exactly what the seeds need. Fall rain is a better predictor for a good patch than spring.
Scarified, or specially treated seeds, can be germinated in ten days for those who forget in the fall, but it is too late and too warm now for them to bloom. Buy your seeds in September, rake a sunny spot, and lightly cover the seeds with 1/2 inch of soil. Don’t just scatter them as you will be feeding the birds!
