Our Texas photo album

The bluebonnet is the State Flower of Texas. Lady Byrd Johnson, LBJ's wife, loved the native wildflowers.

After leaving the presidency, the Johnsons retired to their home on the Pedernales in the Texas Hill Country and she began encouraging the state government in a program to preserve and promote wildflowers. One of the first steps toward this was to postpone all roadside mowing until the blooming season has ended. Another was distribute free seed packs to release in fields and on roadsides

Blooming season varies with the local climate, but Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, Buttercups, Daisies, and a host of other flowers blanket the roadsides and fields from early Spring until Summer.

From your car, it's easy to think the fields have big ponds of intense blue water standing in them. When you get closer, you can see the individual flowers.

The bright orange of the Indian Paintbrush paints a bright counterpoint to the blue. The two are often found together.

Like the fall foliage of New England, Texas Wildflower season attracts a lot of tourists. During the peak of the Spring season, people just pull over and take photos of their pets, children, friends, in the flowers.

So, if you're in a hurry to get somewhere on a popular wildflower route, you'd best leave early because traffic can be thick and people getting on and off the highway slows things down.

A nice contrast to the randomness of wildflowers is this garden at the Blue Bell Creameries. Blue Bell Ice Cream is made in Brenham, a town between Houston and Austin. It's one of our best-kept secrets, and a visit to their plant is always worth the time.

Parked in the courtyard is one of the first Blue Bell Delivery trucks.

If you ask people in Texas about their favorite ice creams, Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla is bound come up frequently.