We all look forward to spring flowers, but some parts of Texas have a lot fewer flowers to look forward to this year:

ENNIS, Texas (AP) — The spring forecast across the Texas landscape is bleak for bluebonnets, poor for primroses and iffy for Indian paintbrushes — and the winter drought is to blame.

The flowers typically provide a seasonal treat for tourists and locals driving along thousands of miles of roads and are celebrated at festivals all over the state.

But this year wildflowers didn’t get the necessary rainfall in November and December, so fewer are expected to grow. Those that do could be shorter despite recent storms in parts of the state, horticulturists said.

“It’s too late,” said Jerry Parsons of San Antonio, a horticulturist with the Texas Cooperative Extension with Texas A&M University. “All you’re going to see is patches of flowers, not big fields or massive displays.”

The flowers may be wild, but they do get a little help. The Texas Department of Transportation sows 33,000 pounds of wildflower seeds — 30 varieties of flowers — along the state’s 79,000 miles of highways each fall. The project started in 1932 but was expanded in the 1960s when the federal highway beautification program was passed.

“We do it not just because it’s pretty; it promotes tourism and helps with erosion control,” said TxDOT spokesman Randall Dillard. “It works out really well, as long as we get cooperation from Mother Nature.”

The blooming season starts in March and runs through May, and so far only a precious few flowers have popped up from North Texas to the Hill Country to the Brazos Valley, horticulturists said. Most are close to the road or in low areas, where the seeds soaked up water run-off.

In Ennis, nicknamed “the Bluebonnet City of Texas,” folks are preparing for an annual event where some 100,000 visitors usually flock each April to tour 40 miles of country roads.

They hope the prediction of meager blooms doesn’t disappoint visitors, so Ennis Bluebonnet Trails organizers are encouraging people to call about the status before traveling long distances.

“We’re just like everyone else: We’re nervous,” said Gina Rokas, director of the Ennis Convention and Visitors Bureau in the town 30 miles south of Dallas. “We’re thinking positive, but we’re realistic.”

Even if the state’s landscape is a bit lackluster, flower lovers shouldn’t despair.

Owner John R. Thomas, who started the business to harvest and sell flower seeds eight years ago, said he usually has 300,000 visitors each year — even when wildflowers are running amok on roadsides — and has already exceeded that by 25 percent this spring.

Thomas said central Texas has a second blooming season featuring several flowers, including Indian blankets and Black-eyed Susans.

“The May flowers still may look real good,” Thomas said. “Plus, Texas is a big state, so it just depends on where you are.”

What’s the latest craze in the flower world? According to Fran Sorin from USA Weekend, it’s black flowers!:

The gardening world has become more fashion-oriented, and each spring and fall heralds new specimens and colors that are the season’s must-haves.

Black is now in vogue, though keen gardeners actually used the color as far back as the Victorian era. The latest resurgence of black garden flowers lends not only mystery and a touch of Goth, but even an exotic, sexy element.

One reason black has become the “in” color: The hue is rarely found on flowers or leaves. And, as we all know, the rarer something is, the more desirable it can become. Then, on a practical level, black is a neutral color. Crimson red, orange, yellow, purple, blue and magenta all are dazzling when coupled with black.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite black plants available domestically. Regardless of where you live, at least one of these will work in your climate. But even if some of these plants are not hardy in your zone, you still can splurge and have them for one season. The excitement and mystery they’ll add to your garden will be well worth the cost.

Sambucus ‘Black Beauty,’ an elderberry, is a breakthrough shrub with majestic black foliage popular among gardening fashionistas. This sambucus has huge, lemon-scented, pink flowers (usually blooming in late June), which contrast beautifully with its black foliage. Grow this plant, hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 7, as a shrub, or cut it back hard each spring to use as a bold perennial.

Albizia julibrissin, commonly known as mimosa or silk tree, has a black variation that is one of the season’s most sought-after trees. It’s a medium-sized ornamental with a short trunk and a broad, spreading crown of very dark leaves with pink flower clusters. Its leaves are delicate and fernlike, and each one has 15 to 30 pairs of oblong leaflets. Mimosa can reach 30 feet tall and is a fast grower. Hardy in Zones 6 to 9, the tree thrives in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun.

Cosmos atrosanguineus, also known as the chocolate or black cosmos, originated in Mexico and has deep maroon flowerheads with a chocolate scent, particularly on warmer days. It flowers from summer on and is hardy in Zones 8 to 10. One summer I used it in a container, planted next to tangerine potentilla. The combination was stunning and the scent intoxicating.

Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’ is the dramatic black leaf elephant ear plant with large leaves up to 2 feet long; plants can reach as high as 6 feet. It’s striking in containers with silver-leaved foliage or other tropicals. I also love it scattered about tropical gardens. It thrives in sun and partial shade and is hardy in Zones 7B and higher. Dig up the tubers in fall, and store them like cannas and dahlias.

For years, hybridizers tried to breed a black rose. Finally, in 2001, the House of Meilland introduced Black Baccara rose, a hybrid tea variety. It’s considered one of the blackest roses and has velvety petals. The bush grows up to 4 feet tall and is hardy in Zones 6 to 10. Imagine this exotic rosebush with diminutive, soft pink dianthus or cranesbill nestled below.

Ipomoea batatas ‘Blackie,’ known as sweet potato vine, has become a favorite of container gardeners. It’s easy to grow and has striking, nearly all-black foliage. This vine loves the summer heat (it’s hardy in Zones 9 and higher) and looks great draped over a container filled with coleus, cannas and other tropicals.

Phyllostachys nigra ‘Black Bamboo,’ a new bamboo variety, has young culms (stems) that are green when they break ground, then change to almost black by the end of the first season, depending on their size. All the mature culms are ebony black. This bamboo is a runner, so contain it in a pot or allow ample room for it to spread. Also, try it as a hedge or develop it into a grove. Provide full sun to partial shade for this plant, which is hardy in Zones 6 to 9.

One of the newest black flowers is a hyacinth called Midnight Mystique. It was developed by an English firm that purchased three “mother bulbs” in Holland for more than $250,000. From these, they propagated up to 30,000 bulbs that were sold in the United Kingdom to bloom this spring. Positioned among daffodils or red tulips, Midnight Mystique is sure to be a showstopper. Even at close to $15 per bulb, the Brits have been buying them up like crazy. Look for this new flower to emerge on the American gardening scene soon. When it does, it will be one hot commodity.

Want to enliven you dinner table with flowers? You can either buy a flower bouquet or make this recipe!

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove
5 leaves epazote
1 pound squash blossoms (using only the flower petals)
2 cups cream
Salt and pepper

4 red snapper fillets (7 ounces each)
Salt and pepper

1 can huitlacoche
1 cup corn
1 tablespoon butter
16 squash blossoms
Vegetable Oil

In a saucepan, add the butter, the onion, garlic and epazote and cook until the onion is transparent. Add the squash blossoms and cook until the flowers wilt. Place the flowers and the sauce in a blender, add the cream and salt and pepper. Blend well and return a sauce to the saucepan and warm up.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F:

Place the red snapper fillets on an oven tray. Add salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until opaque and firm.

Garnish and side dish:
In a saucepan, add the butter and melt. Add the huitlacoche, the corn.and salt and pepper, to taste. In another saucepan fry the squash blossoms in hot vegetable oil.

Assembly:
On a large plate, place 1/4 cup of the sauce, add the snapper on top and garnish with fried squash blossoms on top of the snapper fillet. Add a side of the corn and huitlacoche mixture.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.