by Sue Ann Kendall
This is a post I wrote to my ranch blog, but since all the flowers are where we have our Chapter Meetings, I thought I’d share it with my Master Naturalist friends, too.
Ah, Phlox drummondii. Here’s a Texas native I have lifelong memories about.
When I was young, in the good old 1960s, these grew in great abundance in north central Florida, along the roadsides. There would be miles and miles of phlox blurring into a riot of pinks and purples.
Lucky for me, my mother loved to look at these wildflowers as much as I did. She’d ask my dad to please take us for a ride so she could get herself some phlox.
She’d take pitchers full of water in the car, and when she spotted the ideal field of phlox, she’d shout out for Dad to stop NOW!
We’d all pile out and brave the bees and ants (at least this was pre-fire ant) to pick huge bunches of these flowers. We had to be careful not to pull up the roots.
Back in the car, I’d marvel at all the colors and patterns in the blossoms. So much variety! I don’t think they lasted long in Mom’s vases, but they made her happy.
While the area where I live doesn’t have phlox, I’m happy that you only have to drive a few miles east to see some. It’s not like the old days in Florida, but they are pretty.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these flowers from the field next to Milano Methodist Church. They sure sent me down memory lane.
What’s a wildflower that brings YOU memories? Send Sue Ann your stories, in email, on Facebook, or on a piece of paper.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 
I also have good childhood memories of Drummond’s phlox. My mother would load up my three sisters and I and we would investigate the country roads in Milam county looking for wildflowers. Perhaps this is where my fascination with wildflowers had its beginning. I too remember the multitude of colors and patterns of the phlox, especially those we enjoyed on my Uncle Jessie’s place at Mt. Zion. I still feel a special passion for Phlox drummondii.
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