Bluebonnet etiquette! Ennis Garden Club asks solar eclipse visitors not to trample beloved state flower
Protecting bluebonnets is a no-brainer for Texans. But to anyone else from around the U.S. or the world, the garden club has a simple message: "Don't tread on them." The Ennis Garden Club in North Texas has warned visitors to not trample on bluebonnets during the April 8 total solar eclipse. The garden club is working to educate visitors about the importance of protecting the state flower so it can return the following spring. The annual Bluebonnet Trails will occur before and after the eclipse. Ennis' Tourism and Downtown Development Director, Becky McCarty, said the city expects anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 people. Nancy Thomas, another garden club member, advised visitors not to pick or trample the bluebonnet, noting that if anyone tramples them, fewer will return next year. There are no laws against picking or trampling bluebonbons, so the warning is essential.
Published : a month ago by Matt Howerton in World
Protecting bluebonnets is a no-brainer for Texans. But to anyone else from around the U.S. or the world, the garden club has a simple message: "Don't tread on them."
ENNIS, Texas — North Texas' April 8 total solar eclipse is approaching fast -- meaning visitors from around the nation and the world will be here before you know it.
At the same time, bluebonnets across the metroplex will be peaking, and some visitors might be unfamiliar with good old-fashioned Texas bluebonnet etiquette.
Protecting our state flower so it and more can return the following spring is a no-brainer for any Texan (hopefully). However, the ladies of the Ennis Garden Club are working to ensure that visitors unfamiliar with that mission understand it, too. In Ennis, the annual Bluebonnet Trails will occur before and after the big day.
With 4 minutes and 23 seconds of totality, seeing fields of our state flower will be the second best thing tourists can do aside from staring into the sun. Becky McCarty, a garden club member and Ennis' Tourism and Downtown Development Director, said the city can expect anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 people.
"People are always blown away at how beautiful they are," McCarty said. "We never hear any complaints!"
The town typically sees people from all over for the Bluebonnets trails. So, setting a few ground rules isn't new to Nancy Thomas, another garden club member, who asks visitors not to pick or trample the bluebonnets.
"If you can, step around them, and if you're going to lay out a blanket--put it in an open area away from the bluebonnets," Thomas said. "We want people to protect their eyes and the bluebonnets, so look up and down, too!"
Thomas mentioned that a bluebonnet's seed pods have to endure the coming weeks and that if anyone tramples them, there's a chance fewer will return next year.
"By June, their seed pods will get around two inches long, brown, and open up. Then, their seeds will fall into the ground and germinate in the fall. That doesn't happen if the stems break or get trampled," Thomas said.
It's an easy ask -- and no, there are no laws against picking bluebonnets or trampling them as some may think. So, getting this message across is essential.
Ennis would love to share their bluebonnets with everyone coming for the eclipse -- and for years to come.