The Bluebonnets were gorgeous last year - after 2 years of very sparse viewing in this area.
We drove up to Willow City Loop on the other side of Fredericksburg to see them 4 or 5 times...seemed they just kept blooming for longer than usual.
Bloom time varies a bit but in my immediate ride area; we start watching for them from March to mid-April'sh.. heavy on the 'ish.
The local weather peeps like to give out reports they receive from people so I listen to that or just jump out and do a ride.. that never gets old here.
I have read that fall rains will make or break them. Last year we had a wettish/cold time in November and turned out beautiful flowers this past spring.
This fall we have had a pretty fair amount of rain, after a very harsh drought-dry summer, so am expecting a fair show of flowers, I hope.
We like to make that flower run during the week as EVERY-body else is out there on the weekends and the flower roads get very congested...to the point that you are stopped quite a bit on the Willow City Loop road and you can't progress or regress
.
Dallas area and east of there as well as south of Dallas down along I-35 through Austin'sh have had a LOT of rain this fall. The flowers usually put on quite a big show over that way.
The Buchanan Dam and Inks Lake area are good shows usually... depending on the fall rains.