The perception that things can get wild on a college campus is proving to be true at Texas A&M University this semester.

But the wildness in this case is a field of flowers that have bloomed into an unexpected palette of color on the West Campus adjacent to the Texas A&M AgriLife Complex in College Station.

“It’s amazing how many people – students, faculty and staff  – have literally stopped in their tracks to look at the wildflowers in this planting,” said Dr. Doug Welsh, Texas A&M Gardens and Greenway Project coordinator. “This was our first planting for the project, and we have a beautiful stand of bluebonnets and wildflowers here now.”

Because virtually no one can pass by the field without pulling out a camera, AgriLife officials are asking people to share those pictures on social media with the hashtag #tamuGG.

 

The A&M Gardens and Greenway project will convert 45 acres of the western part of the university’s campus into about 20 different features extending from the Horticulture and Forest Sciences Building to John Kimbrough Boulevard near the Bush Library, Welsh said.

 

The wildflowers were planted last October by John Thomas, owner of Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, in part to give passersby a hint of what the entire Gardens and Greenway project will offer for people walking through campus.

 

“We have some pink bluebonnets and a maroon bluebonnet here,” said Welsh, walking through the plot. “There is also a yellow Indian paintbrush, which is fairly rare — probably one in a million. Then we have red phlox and a few California poppies and lots of Texas bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush.”

Welsh said people can expect to enjoy bluebonnets in much of Texas until about mid-April.

“Then they go into somewhat of an ugly stage, but that just means they are setting seed for next year,” he said. “And we’ll have them again next year as the Gardens and Greenway project continues.”
For more information about the project, see http://tx.ag/gardens/.