Spring in Austin TX Red Bud Begins Blooming

Spring in Austin, Texas starts early compared to my hometown of Calgary Alberta Canada. When I see the red bud trees blooming I consider it the first sign of spring in Austin.

One year, noticing a few red bud trees blooming in Austin in late February I decided on a visit to Zilker Botanical Gardens to see the red bud trees up close.

Although just starting to bloom, the red bud trees are easy to identify with clusters of bright pink capsules on otherwise bare branches.

When the red buds get into full bloom you will see large clusters of the pink flowers among the branches.

Red buds are one of a few trees that blooms before leafing out in springtime. Another southern beauty that blooms before foliage appears is the magnolia tree.

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In Austin one day in late February it was 82 F (28 degrees Celsius) and in the evening it’s down to below freezing temperatures once again. Spring in Austin is sometimes momentarily quashed by ice storms.

Pecan trees signal spring

Pecan trees are the true sign of spring in Austin, that’s what long time locals tell me. The pecan trees are the last of the trees to leaf out in spring. They are not fooled by warm weather in February.

Spring also brings the wildflowers blooming along the roadsides and in gardens around Austin and central Texas.

One of my favorite places to see the wildflowers is at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in South Austin. The bluebonnets are beautiful flowers and such a rare color to see in the plant world.

Mid-March is usually a safe bet for travel to Austin for warm spring weather.

Austin temperatures in February often fluctuate greatly from freezing temperatures to hot sunny days.

I know I’m a cold weather wimp nowadays. Even though I grew up in Calgary I’ve become acclimated to the Texas heat now. I’m always ready for springtime.

Quotes about spring

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome ― Anne Bradstreet

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. — Rachel Carson (Silent Spring)

What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. — Suzanne Collins (Mockingjay – The Hunger Games)

Spring is the time of plans and projects. — Leo Tolstoy (Anna Karenina)

When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself. — Ernest Hemingway (A Moveable Feast)

You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming. — Pablo Neruda

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. — Margaret Atwood (Bluebeard’s Egg)