SUPER BLOOM

I heard of the Super Bloom the western states are enjoying from the heavy winter rains they endured, and was hoping I would get to see it on this trip. And I have not been disappointed.

Florida has pretty wildflowers along the Interstates. I have a state flower license plate on my car celebrating the Coreopsis. The coverage of color I have seen on this trip is so much better than I’ve seen in Flordia. Josh is probably tired of me pointing to all the meadows and hillsides I see covered in flowers. (Edit from Josh: I’m not.) I’ve learned a few names of the more common ones and have multiple ‘folding pocket guides’ for wildflowers, for cactus, and for wildlife.

Of course the wildflower show started in Texas with the Bluebonnets and various other colors of flowers. My uncle, who lived in TX for many years, said that the roadsides are so full of flowers because in the 60’s there was a program that gave travelers free wildflower seeds and asked that you sprinkle the seeds along the side of the road in your travels. Great way to get a start on beautifying the state.

I love seeing the hillsides and meadows full of flowers but it is hard to fully appreciate them at 65 miles per hour. So when we were camped out in the desert (in state parks) I could get up close to them. I knew the California Poppy is yellow but there are also some with orange middles called Mexican Poppy. And the blue is now Lupine. If a hillside is covered with yellow it is probably Brittlebush. There is also Desert Sunflowers, Desert Lavender, Indian Paintbrush and a Paper Flower. And some of the many cactus are blooming also. They could be a whole other story.

It's not just the wildflowers that are amazing, the container/garden flowers are so lush. The RV park we stayed at in Indio, CA, had beds of snapdragons that were 3-4 feet tall. I can only get my snaps at home to maybe one foot before they fall over. And the petunias at other places where so full and overflowing the side of the bed into the streets. I am jealous, guess I need a professional gardener.

I’m sure you know what I write on postcards before you even get them- “WOW, the flowers and great!”- but I cannot get over how Super the Super Bloom really is. So glad we got here at the right time, it will be gone soon and the temps will go up to miserably hot. Would love to see this again some year, there are so many places still to go.