Mississippi has wildflowers Texans can only dream of. True, our state is not as blessed with the solid masses of spring color as other states, but there is a big reason for this - we live in the remnants of a massive forest, not the rolling prairie found farther west. Our heavy rainfall and acidic, fertile soils provide ideal conditions for woodlands, so the only time we find large areas covered with wildflowers are in burned-out or cut-cover forests, old fields, or floodplains. Wildflowers and grasses are known as "pioneer plants, which colonize bare ground. Most of these ephemeral wildflower meadows in Mississippi are quickly taken over by native shrubs, and inexorably, within a few short years once again become shady woods knee-deep in ferns, vines, and rich leaf litter.

That's one reason we're known as the Magnolia State; it's the natural climax of plant succession here. Wildflowers like we see all over the west are permanent "top dogs" where soils are poor, dry, alkaline, and unfavorable for dense forests. Here, they fill for awhile, then move on to new openings in the woods.

That's why our highway department has to spend so much time and effort mowing and spraying - it's not to kill wildflowers so much as it is to keep the sweetgum, sumac, pine, and waxmyrtle from choking the pavement's edge - keeping the forest at bay.

Still, we have a rich legacy of wildflowers to enjoy. Our roadsides are carpeted with creeping, invasive perennial beauties such as brilliant purple verbena, deep blue spiderwort, pink-and-white primrose, and satiny, golden ranunculus (the latter two are both called "buttercups"). Our ditches, too wet for trees, are filled with bluestar, white spider lily, blood-red cardinal flower, Joe Pye weed, narrow-leaf sunflowers, and cattails. Dry hillsides are covered with flame sumac, goldenrod, royal purple ironweed, broomsedge, and lavender spikes of liatris - which sell for two dollars or more a stem in florist shops.

These perennials come back, year after year, with little or no fuss on our part. They spring up mingled in startling combinations of color and form, and tough it out through the worst of our sometimes horrendous weather extremes.

And they are becoming more accepted as garden or landscape plants. In England's cool climate, gardeners who are bored with their pastels pay dearly for the blazing excitement of our own wildflowers. Interestingly enough, we have more native plants in Mississippi than does the entire continent of Europe - isn't it about time we began enjoying what's right beneath our noses?

Taking advantage of the new-found interest in tough flowers, plant breeders have recently begun hybridizing new forms of familiar old garden plants, many of which are also wildflowers. Black-eyed Susans with longer blooming seasons and more compact growth are showing up in garden centers, as are dwarf, drought-hardy versions of goldenrod, daisies, phlox, coneflowers, and coreopsis. Most of these are perfectly suited for pot culture.

Last year, the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., got our legislature to name coreopsis as our official state wildflower. In addition to the cheerful, spring-blooming kinds seen across meadows and hillsides, there are also summer- and fall-blooming perennials which grow well in flower beds and containers. They are easy to grow and make good cutflowers as well. Coreopsis varieties are now widely available by seed or by plant at most garden centers or through mail order nurseries. Seed of most can be collected by hand, sown in the fall, and enjoyed for years.

Unlike the open prairies of spring wildflower fame, we have a large assortment of plants to enjoy . More than just a splash of spring color, our wildflowers offer us much more diverse show throughout our seasons. From the earliest flowering trees and vines, through the brilliant colors of autumn, our natural woods and old fields are enhanced with beautiful wildflowers. Many are now mainstays of the flower garden at home as well.

It's all there, to those who slow down enough to enjoy.