In Bloom

Texas bluebonnet season expected to be spectacular in spring 2024

Marble Falls bluebonnet field, bluebonnets

Drought may actually be helping this year's crop of wild bluebonnets.

Photo courtesy of Visit Marble Falls

It's almost that time: Texas bluebonnets will soon return for spring 2024. And according to experts, it looks like this year could be a "superb" bloom across the state.

In its 2024 Wildflower Forecast, released February 21, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center director of horticulture Andrea DeLong-Amaya says, “On a scale from one to 10, this year looks like it could be an eight, for bluebonnets in particular, if not even better.”

Lee Clippard, the center's executive director, says drought conditions for the past several months will help make this a banner blooming season, particularly in the bluebonnet-rich regions of Central Texas.

"Wildflowers like to have little competition in the landscape, so drought has reduced competition from other plants," he says.

Since January, portions of Central Texas have received enough rain to eradicate drought east of Interstate 35. But that doesn't mean those areas won't see bluebonnets. Clippard says the mix of drought last summer and spaced-out rains early this year will be a great combination for blooms this spring.

Texans can also expect to see nice showings of other wildflowers like golden groundsell, Indian Paintbrush, and phlox, the experts say.

While wildflower watchers are posting photos of blooms here and there in Central and Southern parts of the state, Dallas-Fort Worth's bluebonnet season typically runs about two weeks behind Austin and the Hill Country's; it's rare to see them in North Texas before March.

“It’s like a gradient from south to north,” DeLong-Amaya told CultureMap in 2023. “It’s warmer generally as you go south, so they bloom a little bit earlier.”

The most famous bluebonnet spot in North Texas - the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails - had not yet posted any bluebonnet sightings as of February 23. The annual Ennis Bluebonnet Trails will open April 1-30 and the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails Festival take place April 19-21. It typically coincides with peak bluebonnet season in North Texas.

This year, Ennis is expected to be a top destination for solar eclipse tourists on April 8.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com. The Associated Press and Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this report.

bluebonnets wildflowers nature hill country

Down Under News

American and Qantas step up winter flights from DFW to Australia

American Airlines

Awww look, the two planes are hanging out.

American Airlines and Qantas are enhancing service on flights from DFW to Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. Qantas will increase operations to daily services between Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Melbourne, Australia (MEL), starting December 3 through the end of January 2026.

Qantas will also operate all of its services between Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) and Sydney, Australia (SYD) on its A380 aircraft from January.

“American is proud to partner with Qantas to increase travel options for customers to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne this winter,” says American’s Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer Steve Johnson in a statement.

It's the fourth consecutive year that American and Qantas formed a Joint Business partnership to expanding connectivity between the U.S. and Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. After launching service between DFW and MEL in 2022, daily service operated by Qantas in December and January between these two hubs will allow for one-stop connections from across the U.S. to Melbourne. Ohhh, one-stop but not nonstop.

They'll also bring back American Airlines flights from DFW to Brisbane, a popular winter flight that was introduced in 2024. Service will start on October 25.

American recently introduced its newly designed Boeing 787-9 aircraft featuring 51 Flagship Suite seats and 32 Premium Economy seats, available on all flights between DFW and BNE. Customers can purchase a Flagship Suite experience on this route now.

American and Qantas offer networks connecting North America with Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific from these key gateways: DFW, Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), and Vancouver, Canada (YVR), with connections to more than 200 other airports across North America.

The four major gateways in Australia and New Zealand are Auckland (AKL), Brisbane (BNE), Melbourne (MEL), and Sydney (SYD) with connections to nearly 70 destinations.

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