The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin is the state

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

of Texas. The center features more than 900 species of native Texas plants in both garden and natural settings and is home to a breadth of educational programs and events. The center is 284 acres and located 10 miles southwest of downtown

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

just inside the edge of the distinctive

Texas hill country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Americ ...

. It straddles both

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihua ...

and Texas Blackland Prairies ecosystems. The center is dedicated to "inspiring the conservation of native plants" and promoting the environmental benefits of native plant landscapes. It is home to the most comprehensive native plant database in the U.S., which features profiles of more than 9,000 North American native plants along with a number of other resources (se
Native Plants of North America
. The Wildflower Center has 9 acres of cultivated gardens, including the Luci and Ian Family Garden and the Ann and O.J. Weber Pollinator Habitat Garden. Its 16-acre Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum features collections of tree and shrub species from across the state of Texas. Miles of walking trails, educational exhibits, a gift store, cafe and biannual sales of native plants round out the offerings. In 2013, the syndicated

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, '' Texas Country Reporter'', hosted by

Bob Phillips Robert Leon Phillips, known as Bob Phillips (born June 23, 1951), is an American television journalist best known for his long-running program ''Texas Country Reporter''. In 2005, Phillips was inducted into the Silver Circle of the Lone Star ...

, declared the center the No. 1 site from which to view wildflowers within Texas.

History

Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson and actress

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

founded the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and

natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture. The natural landscape and the cultural landscape are separate parts of the landscape. However, in the 21st century, landscapes that are totally ...

s. The original center was located on a 60-acre site in East Austin. Public demand to view native gardens and learn more about native plants soon overwhelmed the original site, and led the Board of Directors to build a larger campus to accommodate public interest. The current campus opened in 1995 on a 42-acre site in Southwest Austin on La Crosse Avenue. Five acres of native plant gardens and landscapes, designed by J. Robert Anderson, FASLA (principal), Eleanor McKinney (EMLA) and Darrel Morrison (FASLA), were installed throughout a complex of award-winning buildings designed by Overland Partners to reflect the land and regional architecture of the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Americ ...

. The center was officially renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 1997. By 2002, in response to rapidly encroaching land development, the center acquired an additional 237 acres of adjacent land through purchase and donation. This expansion of the campus made possible the development of larger scale research on the ecology of the Central Texas region and how best to restore healthy landscapes in the region. It also established education and public outreach as core functions of the center. The inscription on the Presidential Medal of Freedom award presented to Lady Bird Johnson in 1977 by President Gerald Ford concludes with the words "Her leadership transformed the American landscape and preserved its natural beauty as a national treasure." The Wildflower Center joined The University of Texas at Austin in 2006 (see below). With its focus on native plants, research and education, the Wildflower Center has gained national recognition as a leader in plant conservation and environmental sustainability. In partnership with the U.S. Botanic Garden and American Society of Landscape Architects, the center led th
Sustainable Sites Initiative
a program that established performance benchmarks for sustainable land design and is now offered through GBCI.

Mission

The current mission of the center is "inspiring the conservation of native plants."

Incorporation and Development

On June 20, 2006, the

University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT ...

Board of Regents announced a plan to incorporate the Wildflower Center into The University of Texas at Austin. In 2010, a donation of $1.4 million from the San Antonio Area Foundation was designated toward the establishment of a 16-acre arboretum. The Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum, which was dedicated on April 30, 2011 and opened in the spring of 2012, displays all 53 species of oak trees that are native to Texas. In April 2012,

Luci Baines Johnson Luci Baines Johnson (born July 2, 1947) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. Early years Born in Washington, D.C., J ...

, daughter of Lady Bird Johnson, and her husband Ian Turpin donated $1 million toward a family garden that will be named in their honor. The 4.5-acre native plant garden features a wading creek, a maze of 3-foot-tall native hedges, and a walk-in grotto. It was opened in May 2014.

History

Mission

Incorporation and Development

See also