Earth Laughs in Flowers

     … Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it a coincidence that Lady Bird Johnson had the same initials as her husband? He was a powerful and enigmatic man who left quite a legacy. Lady Bird has a legacy, also – one that is still growing!

Lady Bird had a passion for the environment, and worked tirelessly to foster the preservation and use of native plants, particularly wildflowers. In 1982, she and actress Helen Hayes founded the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to protect, preserve and teach about North America's native plants and natural landscapes. The Wildflower Center, in association with the University of Texas at Austin, is a special place that demonstrates the beauty and diversity of wildflowers and their importance in the ecosystem. We spent a morning there last week amid birdwatchers, walkers, school kids and nature lovers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Native stone architecture integrates gardens and plants that flourish through an amazing water catchment system with slanted roofs, gutters, aqueducts, rivulets and ponds. There are trails, a learning gallery, art gallery, shop and café with memorable oatmeal cookies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps because we are temporarily staying in Austin, I found this place just incredibly peaceful. Did you notice the insect on the cactus?

Sadly, Southwestern Texas is suffering from a multiyear drought, which we saw also in Arizona and New Mexico. This year, there are few wildflowers along the highways and in the meadows. The plants in the Center’s many gardens gave us a taste of those we’ve missed elsewhere! At last, a bluebonnet!

 

Each of these small plots is planted to a theme. By flower color, for instance, or deer- resistant (no guarantees!). The plots include plants that bloom in spring, summer or fall.

 

 

 

 

In the art gallery were watercolor images on cut paper with a three-dimensional effect by artist Shou Ping.

 

 

 

 

At  http://www.wildflower.org/ you can learn how to avoid planting invasive species, see what flowers are native in your area of the US, and more. The online Native Plant Information Network offers a US map you can click to find out about native plants in 49 states.

 

Wait a minute! Forty-nine? Somebody’s left out! It’s Hawaii! I thought about this for a moment. Could it be that all of Hawaii’s plants are native to somewhere else? NOT! Websites describe native Hawaiian plants that arrived eons ago through winds, birds and currents, and have uniquely evolved since. I was born in Hawaii, but decided not to be miffed. I looked closer at some native Hawaiian plants. And I must admit, these plants do not look like wildflowers! Maybe Hawaii is truly unique in having NO wildflowers!