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Native Plant Society of Texas

Texas Wildflower Day

Did you know?

  • Texas Wildflower Day is an annual celebration of Texas wildflowers on the fourth Saturday of April.
  • It is a wonderful 45-year old tradition that celebrates the beauty, importance, and diversity of Texas wildflowers and promotes conservation efforts.
  • Texas Wildflower Day was started by Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in 1980, with Carroll Abbott (our Society’s founder) being the celebration’s champion. Read his 1978 book titled How to Know and Grow Texas Wildflowers or the Texas Wildflower Newsletter he published from 1976 to 1984.
  • In fact, the first celebration of Texas Wildflower Day at TWU led to the formation of the Native Plant Society of Texas the following year!
Man in a hat sitting behind a cluster of bluebonnets
Carroll Abbott
Texas Landscape Wildflowers in Spring
Texas Landscape Wildflowers in Spring

Celebrate with us!

  • Texas Woman’s University holds a Texas Wildflower Day celebration each year on its campus. Learn more. 
  • We are continuing our Get on the Map challenge with Homegrown National Park® with a goal of adding more NPSOT native plant gardens to their biodiversity map to celebrate Texas Wildflower Day. How to add your garden to the map.
  • The Society will be sharing Texas wildflower content on our social media channels throughout the month of April to celebrate.
  • We encourage chapters to create special Texas Wildflower Day events such as NICE nursery tours, wildflower identification walks, community wildflower planting events, and educational presentations.

Texas Wildflower Info

  • Our state flower, the Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) is also our Society’s logo. There are actually 5 species of Bluebonnet native to Texas, all of which are considered the state flower.
  • There are over 2,700 wildflowers native to Texas. You can find over 200 of them in our Native Plant Database here, and check out The Wildflower Center’s list of Top 20 Texas Wildflowers.
  • Want to head out on a wildflower drive this spring? Take this Texas Department of Transportation brochure with recommended driving routes.
  • The Texas Department of Transportation buys and sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds each year along more than 800,000 miles of right of way!
  • Read about Ladybird Johnson’s role in blanketing Texas roadsides with wildflowers here.
  • Head out on a wildflower walk and take this Wildflower Bingo with you!
  • Want to learn how to identify wildflowers from their seedlings? This post can help!
A Beautiful Field Blanketed with the Famous Bright Blue Texas Bluebonnet and Bright Orange Indian Paintbrush Wildflowers with Blue Skies, Wooden Fence, and Green Trees.

Visit the Native Plant Society of Texas Bookstore

Texas Wildflower Books

About the Region

Fall Symposium 2025 Logo - Teach for the Future

Salado, the location of our Fall 2025 Symposium, lies at the intersection of two ecoregions: the Edwards Plateau (Limestone Cut Plain) and Blackland Prairie (Northern Blackland Prairie).

The Edwards Plateau area is also called the Hill Country; however, this general term covers a much larger area extending farther north. Spring-fed creeks are found throughout the region; deep limestone canyons, rivers, and lakes (reservoirs) are common. Ashe juniper is perhaps the most common woody species found throughout the region. Additional woody species include various species of oak, with live oak (Quercus fusiformis) being the most common. Sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) and bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) border waterways. This area is well known for its spring wildflower displays, though they may be viewed in spring, late summer, and fall, as well. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, average annual rainfall in the Edwards Plateau ranges from 15 to 34 inches.

The Blackland Prairie extends from the Red River south to San Antonio, bordered on the west by the Edwards Plateau and the Cross Timbers, and on the east by the Post Oak Savannah. Annual rainfall averages 30 to 40 inches, with higher averages to the east. This region is dominated by prairie species. The most common grass species include little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) in the uplands and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the riparian areas and drainages. Common herbaceous flowering plants include salvias, penstemons, and silphiums. This area has suffered greatly from overgrazing and agricultural use. Few intact areas remain, though many of the plants can be found along county roadsides throughout the region.

Our fall Symposium host chapter, the Tonkawa Chapter, includes both of these ecoregions.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason