Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Lady Bird Johnson and Actress Helen Hayes founded an organization in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes. First as the National Wildflower Research Center and later as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, this organization’s mission is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants and landscapes. Every day, the Wildflower Center brings life to Mrs. Johnson's vision in its public gardens, its woodlands and sweeping meadows as well as its internationally influential research.
Decades ago, Mrs. Johnson recognized that our country was losing its natural landscapes and its natural beauty. As much as 30 percent of the world’s native flora is at risk of extinction. The Wildflower Center was intended to help preserve and restore that beauty and the biological richness of North America. Since then, the Center has become one of the country’s most credible research institutions and effective advocates for native plants.
The Center’s gardens, open almost every day to the public, display the native plants of the Central Texas Hill Country. The Center's Plant Conservation Program protects the ecological heritage of Texas by conserving its rare and endangered flora. The Native Plant Information Network is a comprehensive database of more than 7,200 native species available online at www.wildflower.org. It makes available information, including suppliers, that aid the cultivation and conservation of native plants.
The Landscape Restoration Program uses the science of healing and renewing damaged, degraded, and even destroyed ecological systems to restore balance to the landscape. And the Center’s extensive education programs for children and adults seek to change the way people think about plants through fun and hands-on discovery learning.
Map and Directions
From downtown Austin
1. Head west on Sixth Street.
2. Enter the entrance ramp for Loop 1 South (Loop 1 is also known as MOPAC Expressway).
3. Continue south past the traffic light at Slaughter Lane.
4. Turn left at the next traffic light at La Crosse Avenue.
5. The Center is on the right near the end of La Crosse.
Driving north on I-35 from San Antonio
1. Take the Slaughter Lane exit from I-35 (do not confuse this with the "Slaughter Creek Overpass" exit further south).
2. Turn left (west) on Slaughter Lane.
3. Proceed west to the intersection of Loop 1 (MOPAC Expressway) which is shortly after you pass Bowie High School on your left.
4. Turn left (south) on Loop 1.
5. Turn left at the next traffic light at La Crosse Avenue.
6. The Center is on the right near the end of La Crosse.
