Texas Bluebonnets
by Janette Boyd
Title
Texas Bluebonnets
Artist
Janette Boyd
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
Photo of Bluebonnets in springtime near old rusty pickup truck in Brushy Creek, just north of Austin, Texas.
Featured by the following FAA Groups:
*Waiting Room Art
*Rusty Jewels Vehicles Only
*Exploration Photography
*Arts Fantastic Works
*USA Photographers Only
*The Niche
*All Art Welcome
*The World We See
The Texas Bluebonnets
In 1901, the Texas Legislature named the bluebonnet, a legume, the state flower.
Many say it got its name because it resembles a sunbonnet. It is also been called buffalo clover, wolf flower and el conejo, or rabit in Spanish.
Why do we have so many wildflowers along the highways? Credit the Texas Department of Transportation. The agency says shortly after the Texas Highway Department was organized in 1917, officials noted that wildflowers were among the first vegetation to reappear at roadside cuts and fills. In 1932, the department hired Jac Gubbels, its first landscape architect, to maintain, preserve and encourage wildflowers and other native plants along rights of way. By 1934, department rules delayed all mowing, unless essential for safety, until spring and early summer wildflower seasons were over. This practice has stayed in place for more than 60 years and has expanded into today's full-scale vegetation management system.. TxDOT buys and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seed each year.
Historian Jack Maguire once 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 also said: "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."
http://keranews.org/post/15-amazing-things-you-should-know-about-texas-bluebonnets
Uploaded
March 22nd, 2017
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Viewed 689 Times - Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 03/28/2024 at 5:09 PM
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Comments (6)
Paul Quinn
Great shot Janette. This is pure Texas! Well done.
Janette Boyd replied:
Thank you for your comments, Paul. Yes, I agree--pure Texas! I was lucky to get this shot.