Spring in Texas means seas of Bluebonnets along our roadways. We can thank two women for the beautiful color we enjoy.

The origin of bluebonnets, the Texas state flower, involves a young Indian girl named She-Who-Is-Lonely, who lived when Indians roamed Texas. It’s a familiar tale for most Texans.

According to legend, the Texas weather was not kind to the natives. Winters were harsh. Spring brought catastrophic flooding, followed by a summer drought. Food was scarce. The tribe appealed to the Great Spirit for help. She-Who-Is-Lonely overheard the Great Spirit tell them that selfishness had brought on their plight.

She took matters into her own hands and offered her most prized possession to the Great Spirit, burning her beloved doll in a fire. Once the fire cooled, she then took handfuls of ashes and turned north, south, east, and west, letting the ashes fall from her hands as she spun.

When the tribe awoke, the barren landscape was covered in lush blankets of blue and green. The Great Spirit had forgiven them. The tribe renamed the little girl “One-Who-Dearly-Loves-Her-People.”

Tomie dePaola wrote and illustrated a fabulous picture book based on the legend. It’s available here.

The other woman is Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon Johnson, who made it her mission to improve the landscape along our interstate highways.

She convinced Texas Department of Transportation officials that wildflowers were good at erosion prevention along the roadside and strongly suggested that mowers skip cutting the wildflowers until after they had dispersed their seeds.

She even asked that mowers scatter flower seeds the last time they mowed in the fall.

Former Texas Governor John Connally offered free packets of wildflower seeds to Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and anyone who wrote to him. Other states followed, setting up their own wildflower programs for their roadways.

Lady Bird’s efforts provided the wildflowers we see when we travel through the Texas Hill Country each Spring. Funding cuts over the years have eliminated many seed sowing programs, but the show still happens every year.

This year is a good blooming year. We even have Bluebonnets in my neighborhood.