Fireflies, Fishing and Wildflowers

I have vivid memories of picking wildflowers as a little boy and giving them to my mom. When my own children were small, they picked wildflowers and gave them to their mom. As I’ve watched my grandsons pick wildflowers and give them to their mom, the memories of this story I wrote 16 years ago came flooding back.

May 2009

Chasing lightning bugs and fishing with Dad. Picking wildflowers for Mom. Memories of a time in my life when the greatest joys came from the simplest things. A time before baseball games, cars and the other distractions that inevitably consume a young man’s attention.

On a warm spring evening 40 years later, standing in my yard just after dusk, I noticed lightning bugs. Hundreds of them. I don’t recall the last time I’d seen so many of the little flashing insects at once. I had a sudden urge to catch some of the low-flying ones and put them in a Mason jar. Funny, how tiny twinkles of light can transport you to another time.

I decided instead to just enjoy watching the fireflies rather than try to catch them. (That sounds better than admitting I am not as quick afoot as I was when I was 6 years old.) I called my mother later that evening, and we laughed about fireflies and wildflowers.

It wasn’t until I was grown that I learned wild onion flowers were not the perfect bouquet I thought they were. They were among the first to appear in our yard each spring, and they were certainly plentiful. Mom always put them in a little grape juice bottle and placed them in the kitchen window. Years later, she finally told me the pungent little purplish-white flowers wreaked havoc on her allergies.

When the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes appeared, gathering a colorful assortment of flowers was easy. The know-it-all neighbor girl, however, was compelled to inform me picking wildflowers was “illegal, and you could get arrested.” It seemed unreasonable to send a 6-year-old kid to jail for picking flowers, but she appeared to be quite sure of herself. Her warning didn’t stop me, but it stayed in the back of my mind.

On a recent trip to Austin, I stopped by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and visited with Joe Marcus, the center’s living collection manager. Not knowing what the statute of limitations might be on illegal wildflower picking, and just to clear my conscience, I told Joe that I “have a friend” who picked wildflowers and had heard doing so was illegal. He assured me picking wildflowers is perfectly legal, but he offered a few guidelines.

“There’s nothing wrong with picking a handful,” he said, “but don’t enjoy them to death.”

According to Joe, bluebells, which were Lady Bird Johnson’s favorite wildflowers, are scarce in Texas these days. It seems flower lovers find the bluebell’s long stems and vibrant blue petals irresistible. They’ve been picked to the point that the few remaining bluebells struggle to reseed their native habitat.

East Texas is blessed with an abundance of native wildflowers, and Joe knows them all. While we don’t usually think to look for them during the cold weather, wildflowers actually begin appearing along roadsides and in the woods long before winter is over and then peak in an explosion of colors during April and May. The tiny windflower is typically the first to appear and is a barometer of sorts. It heralds the beginning of wildflower season.

Carolina jessamine, a climbing vine, shows its bright yellow blooms early as well. The crossvine’s orange trumpet-shaped flowers, also native to East Texas, usually appear in March. About the same time, flowering dogwoods and Texas redbuds bring their brilliance to the East Texas woods. Drummond phlox soon follows, and then the fragrant Texas honeysuckle.

As green leafy foliage returns and the blooms fade from trees, bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush are already appearing, and the more familiar wildflowers return to roadsides, pastures and forests. According to Joe, older, well-established roads and highways offer the best viewing for those wanting to take a wildflower trip.

“My all-time favorite East Texas wildflower is the great coneflower,” Joe said. “It’s a giant brown-eyed Susan that grows in the mid to late summer months and can reach heights of up to 6 feet.”

Joe is obviously passionate about his job. He speaks eloquently and excitedly about wildflowers. I take notes and try to remember as much as possible. I really only wanted to know if I could still be arrested for picking wildflowers when I was 6, but now I’m caught up in his enthusiasm.

Not wanting to seem totally uneducated, I wait until later in the conversation to ask about the most obvious of all wildflowers—our state flower, the bluebonnet.

A longtime favorite of the Texas Department of Transportation’s wildflower program, the bluebonnet is one of the first wildflowers to appear along Texas roadsides each spring. After the autumn rains, which are vital to spring blossoms, the bluebonnet forms a rosette in the winter. The bluebonnet flowers appear in March and continue blooming into May.

When spring arrives, countless photos are taken of Texas’ most well-known wildflower. The mention of photos prompts Joe to reflect on what he refers to as “smash circles.” He says he’s passed a patch of bluebonnets in the morning on his way to work, observing the little path and a small spot of smashed flowers. By the end of the day, the little spot has grown into a much larger circle of smashed flowers.

I have to admit, my wife and I have photos of our kids sitting in the bluebonnets. If I’m not going to be arrested for picking wildflowers, I figure I’m in the clear for plopping my daughter down in the middle of bluebonnets for a photo. However, Joe makes a great point, and I’ll be more careful when it comes time to take photos of grandkids.

By this point in our conversation, I’m engrossed in the subject but realize I’m in over my head. I ask about red clover and learn that though they are common along Texas roadsides, they’re not actually a native Texas flower. Joe patiently explains the differences between Indian paintbrush and Indian blanket. He tells me how pill bugs eat young, tender bluebonnets and field violets, just as they break through the ground.

I learn goldenrod is often scorned for causing allergy problems, but ragweed, which blooms at the same time, is the true culprit. And there are more than 5,000 species of wildflowers in Texas, including my two favorite wildflower names—purplehead sneezeweed and Texas toadflax. On my way home, I remember I have five packets of Texas wildflower seeds in my garage, and you can bet I’m going to plant them next fall.

My own children are grown now. They caught fireflies and picked wildflowers with the same enthusiasm, and I enjoyed those experiences from a parent’s perspective.

It’s wildflower season again in East Texas. Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Maybe I’ll pick a few for Mom. (No wild onion flowers this time.) It’s been many years since I wrote those words.

I’m retired now. Some of the wildflower seeds my wife and I planted grew well and some didn’t. Brown-eyed Susans and great coneflowers continue to perform their colorful show each summer. We added landscaping and flowerbeds over the years, but the wildflowers are always special.

I now have grandsons who are 6, 7 and 9 years old. They’re just about beyond the stage of picking wildflowers for their mom, but I’ve come to realize something very important. We are born with the desire to be loved and to express our love to those who love us. Maybe flowers, among the most beautiful of all that is God’s creation, are here for that reason. To remind us we are loved, and to help us show our love for those who love us.

I feel certain that someday my grandsons’ children will continue the cycle of picking wildflowers, squeezing them in their little hands and running to give them to their moms, just like every generation before. What a comforting thought that is.