Monday, March 23, 2009

They're Blooming!!!

I've loved Bluebonnets for as long as I can remember. I waited with such anticipation to see blue appear along the highways every spring. I never thought about growing them myself until a few years ago. I went to a class on Texas Wildflowers at the Arboretum and learned that I could grow Bluebonnets in my own yard!





Unlike other seeds, lots of varieties of wildflowers require planting in the fall. As you may remember from a post I did in September, I soaked the seeds overnight. The next day I "sowed" the seeds rather than plant them in the ground. Something I learned from the class--wildflowers must touch the earth. I have a corner bed in back that I devote to wildflowers and that is where the bluebonnets are blooming. I planted some in another bed in back, and they were doing great until we got ice in January. I lost a really big group of flowers. I was so disappointed, but the bluebonnets in the wildflower bed are huge..and doing great.
I even have a few bonnets in our little garden. I think I tossed some pods from last year's flowers in the garden..and look what happened! You can never have too many flowers!
I don't have spectacular fields of flowers-but for a few weeks one corner of my backyard is filled with these beauties! Just one more reminder....it's SPRING!!

17 comments:

tina said...

That's quite a big stand of beautiful flowers. They look super!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your GORGEOUS bluebonnets. They are truly beautiful.

Susie said...

Linda these are beautiful! We got some of these in at work the other day and I thought about you. Do these die back when the heat sets in?

Jan said...

Your bluebonnets are beautiful! I have some seeds that I purchased & thought I might try in my own garden, after the chance of frost has passed. I've never tried to grow them before, but this year I'm trying lots of new things! (It's all because of our garden-blogging!). Happy Spring;-)

Brenda Pruitt said...

I am so jealous! I only have a small pot of plants I bought months ago. But none are blooming. I would so love a spot just like yours! Maybe I'm sounding stupid, but I did not understand when you said not to plant the seed in the ground, but to sow it. What does this mean?
Brenda

Meadowview Thymes said...

Hi everyone!

Thanks Tina--I am really proud of these! They are putting on quite a show right now.

jj--They turned out pretty well this year. I was afraid they might not bloom like last year, but I think they are prettier!

Susie, you know how I like my bluebonnets! :)
They only bloom once, they will eventually stop blooming and "pods" appear. You leave the plants alone and the pods will pop open and seeds will fall for next year. Then you can pull the old plants up. Now..I've said all of this, but will tell you I plant seeds every fall. I don't think mine re-seed well. Actually, I think it is the gardener's fault on this. I can't leave the bed alone..I feel the need to plant other things once these stop blooming.

Jan, I don't know if they will grow this time of year or not. I always plant in fall...but they might. Remember to soak the seeds first. Let me know how it goes! :)

Brenda, I'm going to send you an email.

misterreereeder said...

Bluebonnets are one of the greatest wildflowers. I am looking forward to seeing more as spring comes on.

Meadowview Thymes said...

I agree with you mr! But you know what..I don't think you will see too many this year because of the lack of rain. The wildflower reports are not very good! So sad!

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

They are beautiful.

Meadowview Thymes said...

Thanks Debbi! I really enjoy them.

Nola said...

They are spectacular! Kudos to you; I've tried several times without success to grow bluebonnets. My neighbor has a xeriscaped front lawn, and has a beautiful show of bluebonnets, too!

Meadowview Thymes said...

Thanks Nola. You have so many bluebonnets around your area. I love to drive through Ennis during the "show!"

Anonymous said...

I love looking at everyone's bluebonnets online. They're gorgeous! But I don't live in Texas, boohoo. Can I grow them as an annual here in Ohio?

Meadowview Thymes said...

Hi Msrobin! I'm not sure about bluebonnets, it may get too cold where you are, but I bet you can grow other types of Lupines. We see them in Colorado and I think they look very much like bluebonnets. They are really pretty! You should give them a try!

Anonymous said...

You have a very nice patch in your garden. It's especially good to have them in the garden this year since they're so sparse in the wild (darn drought).

Meadowview Thymes said...

Hi Pam! Thanks for the compliment! Yes, I'm afraid the drought has really taken a toll on our wildflowers. So sad..that's 2 years in a row now. I really want to try paintbrush next year, but I hear they are very hard to grow.
Happy Gardening!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to your advice, I bought myself some lupine seeds to take the place of bluebonnets. But then I saw actual bluebonnet seeds, and I thought, why not? If they sell them here, perhaps they will actually grow here!