Spring

I have had several people ask me lately if I think spring is finally here. I suppose the recent temperature fluctuations has raised the question. According to the calendar, spring arrived March 20 when the length of the day equaled the length of the night at equinox. From now until the end of June the daylight hours will increase with each passing day.

Statistically, the last average freeze date is March 20 for zip code 78676. They say we are almost guaranteed not to get a frost after April 13. We have an average frost-free growing season of 235 days.

People have different associations with spring. As I wrote a few months ago, spring for me is when the flowers begin to bloom in January. Bluebonnets mark spring for other people. My husband, an Iowa man, told me early in our marriage that he really didn’t like spring because he associated it with slush.

Leon Hale of Houston says that an old Texas legend has it that spring hasn’t come until the Mesquite trees leaf out. Each year he makes a trip to South Texas to greet Spring when he finds Mesquite trees leafing out. He is careful to say it is the Mesquite tree he uses as an indicator, not the Huisache. The Huisache often blooms before the Mesquite tree leafs out.

Due to the rains we had in the winter I am seeing more Stemless Evening Primroses (Oenothera triloba) in the ditches in my neighborhood. They are less than 6 inches high and bright yellow in the early morning. The native columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) are blooming in my protected backyard. The Iris are visible all around town. It seems the white Iris bloom first, then the blue, followed by other pastel colors. Of course the star of spring in hill country is at its peak now. Enjoy our Texas Bluebonnets!

Written by Jackie Mattice Hays County Master Naturalist