How decades of seeding turned Rockport Cemetery into a wildflower destination.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Bluebonnets and other native blooms now blanket the historic burial ground a tradition that stretches back decades. Even with this year’s drought conditions, the flowers are once again putting on a show across the cemetery, which dates back to 1888.
“We have winter Texans that don’t leave until the bluebonnets start blooming,” said Jo Ann Morgan with the Rockport Cemetery Association. “That’s probably one of their last memories when they head back north, the beautiful bluebonnets in the cemetery.”
Morgan, 89, has lived in Rockport her entire life. Several generations of her family are buried there. She says the colorful transformation didn’t happen by accident.
“I don’t know exactly when the bonnets and wildflowers started,” Morgan said, “but I do know that Mrs. Judy Collier and our sheriff at that time, Arly Shivers, and his wife Pinky Shivers, started seeding the cemetery in the 1980s and early 1990s. They continued to do that.”
Over time, the effort stuck… literally.
Liz Smith, a local master gardener, says the success of the blooms comes down to geography.
“Actually, we have different varieties across Texas that are adapted to the soils and climate and rain conditions,” Smith explained. “This is in a sandy prairie.”
That sandy prairie soil helps native wildflowers thrive, even during drier years.
Visitors hoping to catch peak bloom still have a short window. Morgan says the association intentionally holds off on mowing until the flowers go to seed, a strategy that keeps the color coming back year after year.
For now, in the month of March, Rockport Cemetery remains both a place of reflection and a field of blue.