2026 was not a great year for the bluebonnets and other early spring wildflowers in Texas.   While there were reports of good fields of blooms at Muleshoe Bend west of Austin, and late in the season at Ennis,  many areas were lacking wildflowers entirely, or if they were present, only a few sparse and immature blooms.  While returning from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in late March, I drove through the Cuero, Texas area, the Texas legislature-designated "Wildflower Capital of Texas", and saw not a single bloom of any variety.   The down year was a result of the lack of rainfall in late fall 2025 during the germination period,  and extreme drought conditions in Central Texas in the spring this year.

In addition to the drive through Cuero,  I spent a couple of days driving through the Brenham, Texas area, returning to proven areas I have photographed in past years.  The photo at the top of this post was taken at Old Baylor Park at Independence, an area which is usually covered in bluebonnets.  While I was able to get a nice sunrise photo of the cabin at Old Baylor,  you can see the foreground field was mostly grasses and yellow coreopsis with only a few scattered bluebonnets and paintbrush.

A drive down a nearby country lane uncovered a couple of spots where there were modest groups of bluebonnets and wildflowers in the ditches along the road, and the white picket fence and oak trees added to pleasing compositions.

A late March visit to Mercer Botanic Gradens in Houston found this "Pinkbonnet",  a bluebonnet hybrid that is occasionally found in the wild, but more commonly cultivated from seed in a planned garden.  I have only found and photographed them at this location and at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas, where you can buy seed to sow your own bluebonnet display in your yard.

Thanks for stopping by to read this blog post and take a look at these photos. Follow me on Instagram or Vero, where  I post a new photo most weekdays featuring my current photographic activities. 

Scott