Texas Highways Magazine

In addition to capturing wildflowers for the magazine, photographer Sean Fitzgerald cultivates them with his wife in their own backyard. “Last year we saw 10 monarch caterpillars hatch from our little pocket prairie,” says Fitzgerald, who lives in Dallas. He’s photographed wildlife around the world for more than 25 years, and his recent work focuses mainly on Texas. “We have some of the most diverse wildlife on Earth, but too many of our wildlife habitats are under stress and falling to development,” he says. “I try in my own little way to help tell that story.” He does this by finding “something to say” about each subject. “My approach is to look at a scene and ask what kind of stories I see,” he says, “from the ‘big picture’ to…

Springs Eternal IF THERE’S ONE THING we know at Texas Highways, it’s that Texans love their wildflowers. Our Online Wildflower Field Guide stays among our top-viewed stories most of the year, whether it’s the dead of winter or the height of summer. While spring months are of course the best time to view wildflowers, blossoms can still be found in pockets across the state nearly year-round. For our cover story, photographer Sean Fitzgerald spent many years capturing blooms through every season to bring you a month-by-month guide of where and when to enjoy our native flowers. As always, you can find a bounty of archival wildflower content on our site at texashighways.com/wildflowers. While you’re there, make sure to check out our newest email newsletter offerings. In February, we debuted our…

Canyon is one of my favorite places [“For Old Time’s Sake,” Jan/Feb]. I first saw TEXAS when I was 8 years old in 1982, then I took my then-boyfriend (now husband) in 1996, and then I took my own three kids in 2018. @TEX.S.GIRL, VIA INSTAGRAM Travel Planner I picked up a copy of the Jan/Feb Texas Highways magazine for the first time after seeing the cover teasing interesting places to stay. From the paper it’s printed on to the perfect font choices (it matters!) to the beautiful visuals and engaging content, I was instantly taken with the high quality of this publication. Emily Gogolak’s “Amarillo By Morning” story sealed the deal, and I signed up for a two-year subscription. Now I’m making a list of places for us to visit,…

AMONG THE BLOOMING wildflowers and flittering monarchs at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, you’ll find Spike. The 22-year-old African spurred tortoise arrived at the center in 2013 after living with a Mission family as an exotic pet. Then in 2020, his enclosure at the center mysteriously caught on fire, leaving Spike with a burned shell (he’s in the process of receiving a prosthetic one). But Spike is a resilient fellow. Today, he roams the grounds, welcoming visitors, chomping on vegetables, and hosting his annual birthday party on Dec. 14. He’s an unexpected sight for travelers looking to experience the Rio Grande Valley’s prolific butterfly migration, but he leaves a lasting impression. A bench on the side of his space reads, “One day I will learn to fly—Spike.” And if…

YOU’D BE FORGIVEN for feeling a little envious of the vast fields of blooms that blanket the state with color each spring. But if you’ve got a barren plot of land, don’t fret—you can craft your own wildflower patch with help from Native American Seed. Founded in Argyle, the company has collected and preserved seeds native to Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma for 35 years. Their seed mixes offer drought-resistant landscaping, from native grass packs, featuring curly mesquite and buffalograss, to wildflower field packets, showcasing bounties of American basketflower, Mexican hat, and Texas bluebonnet. The Lady Bird’s Legacy Mix honors the former first lady’s dedication to roadside beautification with native flowers like firewheel. Pick up a packet of seeds on your next visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, at the…

TO SAY GEORGETOWN IS FOND of red poppies is an understatement. The town square is blooming with the flowers everywhere you look—from public art, to bike racks and benches, to storefront window displays. The obsession started when Henry “Okra” Purl Compton, an Army corporal stationed in France during World War I, gave his mother seeds he gathered from red poppy fields in Belgium. She planted them in her garden and then blooms started sprouting all over town. In 1990, when local groups banded together to plant 100 million seeds, the Texas State Legislature designated Georgetown “The Red Poppy Capital of Texas.” Named after early settler George Washington Glasscock in 1848, the town 30 miles north of Austin has dozens of businesses situated on the square itself. The downtown contains many…