The dogwoods have bloomed, the mimosas are quickly
emerging, and the harshness of winter is waning into a lovely Spring. Flowers
perfume the air, soft clouds sway in the breeze and among all the season's
festivities, a special occasion arises. On May 4th, join me and my husband as
we celebrate the grand opening of the Luci and Ian Family Garden at the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas.
Open to the public, this celebration showcases the
4.5 acre native plant Family Garden designed to encourage hands-on, creative
outdoor play, with sustainable features including giant birds' nests, a creek,
and a maze.
Named after lead donors Luci Baines Johnson,
daughter of President Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, and her husband Ian Turpin,
the $5 million Family Garden will double the maintained garden acreage at the
279-acre Wildflower Center that is part of The University of Texas at Austin.
"The Wildflower Center is on the cutting edge
of sustainability,” says Luci Baines Johnson. “Our hope is that the Family
Garden will be a place where families go to play and discover the wonder and
importance of nature.”
The Luci and Ian Family Garden aims to connect
children and families to the natural world by providing more than a dozen
interactive and educational features made of natural materials such as Nature’s
Spiral, a mosaic–inlaid limestone wall that illustrates the spiral shapes found
in nature. Other features include a maze made of native shrubs, giant tree
stumps for kids to climb on, giant bird nests made from native grape vines, a
grotto with caves and a waterfall, a lawn designed with native turf, a creek
with dinosaur footprints and water activities, and much more.
“There is nothing like this garden in Texas on many
levels,” says Susan Rieff, executive director of the Wildflower Center. “The
Luci and Ian Family Garden will offer children a safe environment for exploring
the natural world that we hope will instill a sense of wonder and excitement.”
Designed by landscape architect and artist W. Gary
Smith and architecture firm TBG Partners, the Family Garden is a model for
eco-friendly landscaping as a pilot project of the national Sustainable Sites
InitiativeTM(SITES) program. The Wildflower Center developed SITES in
partnership with the U.S. Botanic Garden and the American Society of Landscape
Architects. It is the most comprehensive national system for rating the design,
construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes.
The Luci and Ian Family Garden was made possible by
more than 200 generous donors, including Lynda Johnson Robb, also daughter of
President Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson, whose family funded the Robb Family
Pavilion. Taken together, these donors contributed over $5 million to fund the
project.
I encourage you all to take time this season and
visit the Luci and Ian Family Garden. And, if you’re available on May 4th,
come join me in the garden!
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is located
at 4801 La Crosse Avenue, Austin, Texas 78739.