Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Drive along a Texas highway in the spring and you won't miss it: a profusion of colorful wildflowers decorating the roadside and splashed across meadows and pastures. If you appreciate the natural beauty of plants and flowers in their native habitats, you are sure to enjoy a visit to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, the official Botanic Garden and Arboretum of Texas and a nature center dedicated to sustainable gardening that highlights wildflowers and plants native to Texas.

Lady Bird Johnson, our nation's First Lady from 1963 to 1969, founded the Wildflower Center in 1982 with actress Helen Hayes in an effort to conserve and display Texas' native plant life. The Center opened first on 60 acres in East Austin before moving in 1995 to its current 284-acre home on La Crosse Avenue, on a transition zone between the Edwards Plateau and Texas Blackland Prairies ecoregions.

The botanic garden—full of indigenous Texas plant and wildflower displays, meadows, trees, trails, and recreational areas—now attracts more than 276,000 visitors annually. Among the many wonderful things to do in Austin, the Wildflower Center is a top-rated attraction that you can't miss. Families, hikers, and photographers will find plenty to enjoy about the gardens, which also offer opportunities to discover how versatile and essential native plants are to a healthy and sustainable landscape.

Here are some of the ways you can enjoy your time at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center:

Walk Through the Gardens

Sweeping meadows, lush gardens, and winding nature trails invite you to explore more than 900 species of Texas native plants. The grounds are beautiful year-round, but spring and fall are breathtaking as the landscapes explode with color. Look for butterflies and hummingbirds as you pass water features, such as ponds and streams. Climb to the top of the Observation Tower for panoramic views of the gardens. Visit the four Home Inspiration Gardens—Naturalistic, Contemporary, Formal, and Mixed Border—which provide landscaping ideas on how native plants can be used to evoke different styles in your own home garden. Stroll through the 16-acre Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum, home to a diverse collection of native Texas trees, an oak collection, and the Hall of Texas Heroes—young oaks grown from acorns of historically significant Texas trees—then sit for a spell on one of the tree swings in Elisabeth Maxine's Cathedral of Oaks.

Let the Kids Go Wild!

The Luci and Ian Family Garden is a natural playground of interactive features for children to explore. This 4.5-acre garden, which opened in 2014, uses native Texas plants, tree stumps, and other natural elements to engage families and provide fun ways for kids to connect with nature. They can wade through a flowing creek dotted with dinosaur footprints, wander a native shrub maze, explore a grotto with caves and a picturesque waterfall, walk a Fibonacci spiral, peer into a child-sized wildlife blind, and climb among giant tree stumps.

Take a Break

The Wildflower Café is the perfect spot for lunch or light refreshments. The café's glass walls offer great views of the center's beautiful outdoor courtyard. Later, make time for a stop at the Shop & Gallery, which offers an extensive selection of local, artisan-made goods, garden and plant-related items, and gifts, from the educational to the whimsical.

Lady Bird Johnson worked passionately to preserve the native plants that are such a crucial part of the state's ecosystems. Her legacy lives on at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, a spectacular garden full of the many vibrant colors of Texas.