Mar 31 2007 11:10 pm
Lady Bird and the Wildflowers of Texas
Texas State Flower : Bluebonnet
When my son Mac was five or six, we were driving back from Austin to San Marcos. He asked me where all the wildflowers came from. I told him that God put all this beauty on the Earth for us to enjoy. Then I added that he had a little help from a woman named Lady Bird.
I told him the story of Lady Bird Johnson and how she began a beautification project that transformed the national highways into scenic byways. He was very quiet on the drive home. That evening, he came to me and said, “Mom, can you help me write a letter to Lady Bird to thank her for the flowers?” We did. He received a personal card from Lady Bird in the mail within a week. That is the kind of woman she is.
Lady Bird Johnson with Bluebonnets
Do you know who Lady Bird Johnson is? She is the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), the 36th President of the United States. As a US Senator, LBJ worked for the electrification of rural Texas. As President of the US, he worked to complete the Civil Rights legacy of President John F. Kennedy and to advance the Great Society of the United States.
Mrs. Johnson advanced the causes of women and minorities; fought for Project Head Start; and redesigned the role of the First Lady to suit our modern, media-driven age. Mostly, though, Mrs. Johnson fought for America’s imperiled environment.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Texas
Lady Bird Johnson was attuned to nature and the importance of conserving the environment. Thanks to Lady Bird, the roadsides of Texas bloom with native Texas wildflowers in the spring. Lady Bird Johnson founded the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982, and it was renamed in her honor in 1998. The mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, part of the University of Texas at Austin, is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants, and landscapes.
Map to Wildflower Center
If you ever journey to Austin, seek out the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. If not, you may view the handiwork of God and Lady Bird along the highways and byways of Texas. God bless you, Lady Bird!
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Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know, Famous Texans, Nature, Wildflowers
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Mike on 01 Apr 2007 at 7:11 pm #
That’s pretty cool you got a response. I must also saying living in texas I didn’t know about why there are so many flowers by the highways, now I know. :)