The colorful display of flowers at Best Western Plus Blanco Luxury Inn and Suites is the talk of the town. Passing by on US 281, you can’t help notice the vibrant colors.

This is their way of giving meaning to the phrase “take the time to stop and smell the roses.”

“A rose flower is synonymous with passion and needs a certain amount of obsession to maintain,” said the hotel’s Linda Sullivan. “Artists paint on canvas, we paint on land for all to enjoy.”

Tony Wood, who has worked with owner Bharat Patel for many years, says that Patel builds a hotel just so he can plant roses. In retrospect, there may be some truth to this.

This is wildflower country, too, so the hotel’s gardens are not to be complete without poppies, bluebonnets, bachelor’s buttons, and larkspurs. Once the wildflowers are gone, they will have an abundance of perennials.