AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: BigMattFromTexas on April 18, 2010, 08:41:08 PM

Title: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: BigMattFromTexas on April 18, 2010, 08:41:08 PM
I recently went to Ivie Reservoir about 45 minutes out of Angelo, I got mainly pictures of Bluebonnets(Texas' state flower) I got some along the highway, I used a black hoodie to stop the glare, but some pictures taken across the windshield  :ded:. So I'll show y'all them whenever I upload them. Anyone else got any pics of wild flowers along roads? Heres some of the one I like the most.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh5.ggpht.com%2F_WYYeXvkUoUE%2FS8usbWVc-xI%2FAAAAAAAAElo%2FbpbYJAtnrwk%2Fs800%2FSANY0331.JPG&hash=cd5cc878cf0225afb16266ed669675482441d762) *Glare*
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh6.ggpht.com%2F_WYYeXvkUoUE%2FS8usdmH4-NI%2FAAAAAAAAEl8%2F52bcOSF-OqA%2Fs800%2FSANY0336.JPG&hash=5e53ef23786b5972a738838e49aaec1d73132c9d) *No glare*
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh6.ggpht.com%2F_WYYeXvkUoUE%2FS8usuTWlWGI%2FAAAAAAAAEnk%2FDyzhjG1uyWo%2Fs800%2FSANY0365.JPG&hash=d34e949d444339640997a0d88d2e8d4d4a7100d0) *No photoshop*
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh4.ggpht.com%2F_WYYeXvkUoUE%2FS8usyHeUHjI%2FAAAAAAAAEn4%2F0fvScyVyvMA%2Fs800%2FSANY0369.JPG&hash=1326a0af53bdc16499d58f4077fa7ce0bf65c058) *Cool looking*
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh4.ggpht.com%2F_WYYeXvkUoUE%2FS8utFGWoY5I%2FAAAAAAAAEo4%2F-Tx5H7P_io4%2Fs800%2FSANY0383.JPG&hash=a09168763626ee99528a16ad8c0d2609aace99c0) *IDK what the yellow one is*
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh3.ggpht.com%2F_WYYeXvkUoUE%2FS8utbPTTvuI%2FAAAAAAAAEqE%2FgsFHHTiyJr0%2Fs800%2FSANY0400.JPG&hash=ac6b03a04447c4c9fc1578051152315554ae12b9)
Thats it for now, heres the link to the rest of em. *WARNING* There are some with HORRIBLE glares, those were taken across the windshield... Anyways hope you enjoy, please post some of your own pics of wildflowers along highways if you have any, and want to do so...
Link: http://picasaweb.google.com/bigmatt30000/WildFlowers?feat=directlink
BigMatt
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: Mergingtraffic on April 18, 2010, 09:56:35 PM
I was just going to post about this.  In CT and NY there are signs next to wild flowers stating they are just that and not to pick or mow them.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: BigMattFromTexas on April 18, 2010, 10:05:52 PM
^They have those, actually right down the street from me, but not along highways here...
BigMatt
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: realjd on April 19, 2010, 09:52:19 AM
Because of Lady Bird Johnson, Texas as those wildflowers along many of the highways. Not many other states do it to the same extent.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: hm insulators on April 19, 2010, 01:36:41 PM
A few weeks ago, I took a hike near Superior, Arizona and US 60 between Apache Junction and Florence Junction was lined with wildflowers.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: burgess87 on April 19, 2010, 04:05:10 PM
The Rochester, NY area has several wildflower areas with signs that say "Monroe County in Bloom".  Makes sense - Rochester is the "Flower City".
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: mightyace on April 19, 2010, 07:28:44 PM
Quote from: realjd on April 19, 2010, 09:52:19 AM
Because of Lady Bird Johnson, Texas as those wildflowers along many of the highways. Not many other states do it to the same extent.

Probably not, though I do remember seeing numerous wildflower signs along I-80 in PA when I was growing up.  Of course, given the heavily rural nature of the territory that I-80 passes through, there are plenty of wildflowers that grow near the right of way anyhow.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: njroadhorse on April 20, 2010, 05:29:28 PM
I once saw wildflowers along an on-ramp to NJ 440 from the Garden State Parkway near Perth Amboy.  Darndest place for them too, because they were smacked between the highway and an apartment complex, and still could not be picked.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: xcellntbuy on April 20, 2010, 10:34:12 PM
Large areas of wildflowers are planted in the median of Interstate 81 in Virginia and Interstate 77 in North Carolina.  I was always told that the surcharge for personalized license plates in North Carolina was used for wildflowers.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: Ian on April 20, 2010, 10:36:54 PM
A lot of areas on the New York Thruway aswell as many rural Pennsylvania interstates have wild flowers in the medians.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: BigMattFromTexas on April 20, 2010, 11:44:07 PM
Theres actually alot in urban Angelo, when I went to San Antonio a couple weeks ago, they were along Anderson Loop, not so much on 10 and 410 East, but I just like photography so thats why I took the pics...
BigMatt
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: deathtopumpkins on April 21, 2010, 01:15:53 PM
VDOT likes to plant them in the ROW at some interchanges (I-64 at Northampton Blvd in Norfolk comes to mind). I find that any natural beauty of them is countered by the presence of a "WILDFLOWERS - DO NOT MOW!" sign every 10 feet :|
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: Brandon on April 21, 2010, 04:48:48 PM
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on April 21, 2010, 01:15:53 PM
VDOT likes to plant them in the ROW at some interchanges (I-64 at Northampton Blvd in Norfolk comes to mind). I find that any natural beauty of them is countered by the presence of a "WILDFLOWERS - DO NOT MOW!" sign every 10 feet :|

Illinois uses something similar, but instead of wildflowers, we plant prairie plants (native flowers and grasses).  Most interchanges have a sign in each quadrant stating, "PRAIRIE PLANTS - DO NOT MOW".
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: BigMattFromTexas on April 25, 2010, 10:10:57 PM
I took well over 100 pictures of bluebonnets and Lake Stamford, but I was deleting old pictures and I accidentally pressed delete all, and so all of them are gone, but i took 42 then my camera DIED, so yeah, I was p***ed...
BigMatt
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: agentsteel53 on April 25, 2010, 10:18:40 PM
if you hit "delete all" by accident, you may be able to recover the pictures.  A camera card (or, really, any other storage element) does not physically delete the data, overwriting it with all zeroes or something.  It simply removes the file from the list of files, and marks the space as unallocated - the data is only gone when the space is reused.

if you put the card in your computer, you may get software that does an un-delete for you.  But you gotta do it immediately after the errant operation - writing any more images will start hosing the deleted ones.

a quick google search reveals this: http://www.flashundelete.com/

that's 49 bucks - I'm sure a free option is out there with more searching.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: BigMattFromTexas on April 25, 2010, 10:36:21 PM
No luck...  :ded:
BigMatt
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: 74/171FAN on April 26, 2010, 03:32:54 PM
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on April 21, 2010, 01:15:53 PM
VDOT likes to plant them in the ROW at some interchanges (I-64 at Northampton Blvd in Norfolk comes to mind). I find that any natural beauty of them is countered by the presence of a "WILDFLOWERS - DO NOT MOW!" sign every 10 feet :|
On VA 36 at the I-295 interchange there are actually signs thanking VDOT for the wildflowers in both directions.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: jeffandnicole on September 11, 2018, 11:32:14 AM
Bringing this topic back to life (heh) from a long hiatus...

Saw this notice on my NJ EZ Pass Statement I received yesterday:

Quote
Bring the beautiful gardens you admire on the Gardens State Parkway right to your own back yard.  The Annual and Perennial mixes are available on-line at - www.gspwildflowers.com . Plant now and enjoy all season...

(Bold, Italics and the extra S on Garden all written as shown on the statement)

The website sells the wildflowers for $9.99 per 1/4 lb bag.  The annuals are best planted in the spring; the perennials no later than Labor Day, so the advertisement for these flowers came kinda late to make use of this year.  But it was interesting to see it is available for purchase.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: hotdogPi on September 11, 2018, 11:44:55 AM
I've seen people picking sunflowers in the median on I-93 near Franconia Notch, with their cars parked off to the side.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: SectorZ on September 11, 2018, 12:12:56 PM
Quote from: 1 on September 11, 2018, 11:44:55 AM
I've seen people picking sunflowers in the median on I-93 near Franconia Notch, with their cars parked off to the side.

I've seen that too. Especially fun in early October when you combine the leaf-peepers, so you can experience the fun 65-to-0 braking needed when some moron parks half in the left lane to pick wildflowers during traffic conditions already filled with people not paying attention.

The hot spot is between exits 32-33. Combine that with the people who park on the highway near exit 31 to take pics as well of foliage.

[/rant]
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: english si on September 11, 2018, 01:18:11 PM
When you say 'wild flowers' do you mean flowers just left to grow without intervention, or do you mean deliberately sown mixed seeds from local flowers done in a deliberately haphazard way.

Because it strikes me that, round here at least, it tends to mean the latter. There's a difference between a patch of land left to grow, and where we'd talk about wild flowers. The latter have much more colour, and far fewer grasses, nettles and brambles.

My town is going for winning the 'town' category in 'Britain in Bloom' and has been doing all sorts of elaborate formal displays across the town for years, but along one main road on the edge of town, the verge is a display of wild flowers, sown 5 or 6 years ago now, and densely enough that weeds don't have room to get in the way. The other stuff is cool, but the colour and simplicity make the wild flowers my favourite single piece of the whole.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: txstateends on September 11, 2018, 09:02:19 PM
Some flowers are wild, popping up on their own.  Others are seed-planted flowers that usually occur 'wild'ly or at least scattered around along or near highway ROWs.  TX has a mixture.  Thankfully a pioneer with foresight named Lady Bird came along to give us all an alternative to cement/pavement/billboards everywhere.
Title: Re: Wild Flowers along Highways
Post by: mrcmc888 on September 12, 2018, 01:58:01 PM
I-140 in Tennessee is lined with wildflowers along both sides for most of its length.  There are huge signs put up that proscribe criminal penalties for anyone caught picking the flowers.  I can't imagine anyone's been prosecuted for that before as Knoxville police are barely bothered to even catch speeders.