Bluebonnets, Red Clover and Indian Paint Brushes have been blooming along the highways around Ft.Worth for a couple of weeks now. I only managed one pic stop that day, which unfortunately, only caught the lupines there. There will soon be even more patches of different colors from dozens of other varieties. It is a spectacular experience to drive for miles along ever-changing flower tapestries.
You don't need bluebells with those lupins, Maggie. Harrogate Flower Show tomorrow, so hopefully I should have something to share on here at long last. Didn't that year go fast? My garden is continuing it's very slow wake up to spring, but everything is starting to green up and it looks as though we shall be having a sunny day today. 
With good late summer rains, the Texas road sides are almost as colorful in autumn as they are in spring. I'll get a virt stroll together on it some time. But meanwhile, here's a ripening native autumn crop. 
First it's rattlesnakes, now she's tackling the prickly pears, are there no lengths this woman won't go to for the sake of a photo.
Aw, its the fire ants that pose the biggest threat when stalking the Texas wilds
I have noticed that where deer roam wild, the only native veg to survive their foraging is well armed. Almost every surviving plant is covered in thorns of some sort. Recent trips to some wild deer grounds revealed holly, briars, cacti, mesquite, and such. The only non-thorny trees left standing were live oaks. Maybe they leave those the shade ;-) Maybe it is an over-population problem. MKs W. Virginia deer do not seem to be as voracious as those.
I let some of this Texas native daisy reseed on the patio every year. Can't help but admire its tenacity, which is a fine example of what it takes to become a wildflower in the Texas wilds! 
That must be the Texas version of the Ox eye daisy that does so well over here and both make good garden fillers. Good to see someone elses paths disappearing under the foliage. Strange how rabbits in this country like to eat thistles, they seem to have no problem dealing with the spines.
Come Aug, the bricks are carpeted with the weeping mulberry's long branches. (thing on right losing its foliage) I have to clip them off at ground level in late summer just so we can get by!
Oooo the rabbits eatting thistle reminds me of Larry's story about grazing cows at his Grandfathers place. During the 50's drought, they had to burn the needles off the prickly pear cactus with a flamethrower thing. There wasn't much else left in the pastures, so the poor things would eat it even if the needles weren't removed. Then folks would have to remove the barbed spikes or they wouldn't be able to eat at all and starve to death. Glad the rabbits manage better with the thistle bristles!
Looking at the above photographs it seems to me that there must be two places called Texas, one dry and desertlike and one lush, green and full of beautiful wild flowers. I have noticed that many shots shown on here could well have been taken in England.
Just going off the topic, we had butterflies in the garden four days ago, today we have snow!! Brrrr..
Texas is so huge that yes, there are many different terrains from desert, swamp, praire, forest, hill country, costal and such. But in this case, the cacti pic and the bluebonnets were both taken in the same general region of Texas - just west of Ft. Worth. Bluebonnets were probably blooming around that cactus clump last spring and will prob reappear next year from seed. It is a great example of the diversity between spring and summer here, which allows me to enjoy a wider array of material than just the summer bloomers.
Cool temps and rains come again in autumn, making for an 8 month growing season, which makes up for those horrible summer temps. Then the roadsides and garden revive again in fall. Only a few miles from the prickly pear and the rattlesnake, there were fields of liatris, white euphorbia and others blooming beautifully. I should get their pics up too.
Wonderful to hear you too have enjoyed an "Indian Summer" before the first snow. Ack. I'm hoping to get some garden time in this weekend. Forecast is promising highs in the 70's. Heaven!
The lovely liatris blooming by the roadsides in Oct. 
I used to have that one in my garden, but the conditions didn't seem to suit it, yet there it is competing with everything.
I finally found a place for the lovely (but very aggressive) native pink Evening Primrose, Oneotheria in my garden. Or rather, it found a place for itself where it might behave.
