Indian blanket

The Indian blanket, or the fire wheel, sets fields ablaze with bright orange and yellow starting in April.

Wildflower season in the Highland Lakes announces itself each spring with a perky lupine known as the bluebonnet. And by spring, we mean February! The Texas State Flower often shows off its blue and white florets before the last frost has completely melted away.

As soon as we become besotted with bluebonnets, the fiery red-orange Indian paintbrush peppers the landscape. Coreopsis, Indian blankets, and Mexican hats headline a second wave of wildflowers, adding a spicy variety of colors to the scene.

Antelope horn milkweed, blue curls, wine cups, horsemint, spiderwort, lantana, and so many others bloom at just the perfect time to keep this dazzling show going through the summer. 

Peak months are April and May, when the largest variety of wildflowers blossom at the same time. The late bloomers, like sunflowers and lantana, pop up in late summer and early fall.

Wildflower Timeline

(Months indicate when the flowers usually first appear. When they die off depends on the weather.)

MARCH

Texas paintbrushes
The many poetic names for the paintbrush belie its baffling nature as an unpredictable parasite that can be used as both a love potion or a poison.
  • Bluebonnet (often late February)
  • Indian paintbrush
  • Western buttercup
  • Phlox 

APRIL

Stiff greenthread
Stiff greenthread. Staff photo by Jennifer Greenwell
  • Blue curls aka fiddleneck 
  • Antelope horn milkweed 
  • Mexican blanket aka firewheel 
  • Winecup 
  • Verbena 
  • Stiff greenthread 
  • White prickly poppies 

MAY

Texas thistle
Texas thistle. Staff photo by Jennifer Greenwell
  • Coreopsis aka tickseed 
  • Giant spiderwort
  • Lantana 
  • Horsemint aka lemon bee balm 
  • Thistle 
  • Mexican hat 

JUNE

Sunflowers provide a source of nectar and seeds for pollinators. Birds love the seeds. Staff photo by Daniel Clifton
Sunflowers provide a source of nectar and seeds for pollinators. Birds love the seeds. Photo by Daniel Clifton
  • Common sunflower 
  • Yarrow

jgreenwell@thepicayune.com