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Tuesday, March 18, 1997

Rainy skies of winter turning to blue roads of spring

By JULIE J. EVERITT Waco Tribune-Herald

WACO, Texas - Days of gray rainy skies earlier this year will soon mean miles of brilliant blue roadsides when bluebonnets explode into bloom.

After a pathetic showing during the drought of 1996, the Texas state flower is expected to burst into bloom along Texas roads in a week or two.

"It'll look great," said Doug Andrews, McLennan County extension agent. "With all the moisture we've had, it should be pretty good."

Helen Havelka, a Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said the bluebonnets are "plentiful" this year and may start blooming within a few days.

"We're kind of excited about this year," Ms. Havelka said.

Of course, the prolific rainfall may also excite the growth of weeds, Andrews said.

But bluebonnets should remain in clear view in most areas, he added.

"There's a lot of seed out there and it appears the bluebonnet season is going to be nice," Andrews said.

Already bluebonnets are showing their true colors on Highway 84 West near Loop 340, Ms. Havelka said.

"It looks like we'll have a lot of them in our district," Ms. Havelka said. McLennan County's Department of Transportation district includes seven other area counties.

Central Texas gardeners should be pleased as well, say local nursery owners.

"It should be a pretty good showing this year," said Steve Pierce, co-owner of Gardens by Genesis Nursery.

For first-time planting, bluebonnet seeds are sowed in the fall and the blooms appear the following spring, Pierce said.

After that, the flowers "keep coming back year after year," he said.

However, Ms. Havelka said, the Department of Transportation's (bluebonnet) line is the same number used for highway conditions, so information on bluebonnets will not be available in the event of emergency road conditions.

Two Central Texas towns will hold bluebonnet festivals this season:

- On March 22, downtown Lorena will host a bluebonnet festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., where Central Texas vendors will sell their arts and crafts.

- On April 12, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers will host the Lake Whitney Bluebonnet Festival from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lofers Bend Day Use Park.

Activities include an Environmental and Heritage Fair, a children's fishing tournament, food, games, door prizes, a 5K run, a one-mile fun run and a volleyball tournament.

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To find out the best sites across Texas for bluebonnets, call Austin's National Wildflower Research Center until May 31 at (512) 832-4059 or the Texas Department of Transportation until April 30 at (800) 452-9292.

To ask questions or register for the runs, call (817) 694-3189 or (817) 622-3332.

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