Newswise — The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin is mounting a summer 2008 exhibit commemorating Lady Bird Johnson at the United States Botanic Garden.
"A Clear Vison" will run May 24 through October 13, and will be the first exhibit at the Botanic Garden's recently completed First Ladies Water Garden. The Lady Bird Johnson exhibit will be part of the Botanic Garden's Summer 2008 exhibit, "One Planet -- Ours!," focused on sustainability not only in gardens and landscapes, and on "how each of us and our communities can live for tomorrow, as well as for today."
Mrs. Johnson was a visionary and an environmental leader ahead of her time. She was also extraordinarily eloquent. In the exhibit, Johnson's words will tell her story through quotations such as: "The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become."
Her words will appear on bronze wall plaques and spirals in the granite and bluestone fountain that is the centerpiece of the First Ladies Water Garden. Johnson's voice will speak from hand-cranked audio-tour boxes strategically placed near the tables in the garden's four corners for children and others to enjoy.
Native plants from the eco-regions of the United States will be well represented in cobalt blue pots in a design created by Andrea DeLong-Amaya, the Wildflower Center's horticulture director. Visitors can take home wildflower seeds from their home region as well as information on native plants.
The messages on the value of native plants appears in unexpected, whimsical ways -- on the tables and umbrellas in the four seating areas and in the pots holding plants. These messages will tell visitors that native plants conserve water, require less chemical assistance and less maintenance, thus reducing air and water pollution caused by mechanical mowers and blowers, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
Because of the value of native plants, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is also an original partner with the Botanic Garden and the American Association of Landscape Architects on the Sustainable Sites Initiative. It is an effort to create voluntary guidelines and a rating system by 2009 for sustainable landscape design.
"A Clear Vision" was designed by Leslie Ernst of The University of Texas at Austin Design Center, and funded partly by a grant from university President William Powers. The exhibit is intended to match in beauty, quality and appeal the beautiful surroundings of the National Garden, which features native plants of the Mid-Atlantic region.
Others participating in the Botanic Gardens summer exhibit include the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), U.S. Department of Energy, American Horticultural Society, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Longwood Gardens, and the National Wildlife Federation. The exhibits include "Cool Globes," with more than 40 sculptures depicting solutions to the problems of living unsustainably.
The Botanic Garden's Conservatory and National Garden, which contains the First Ladies Water Garden, are open to the public, free of charge, every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Conservatory is located at 100 Maryland Ave. S.W., on the west side of the U.S. Capitol. Further information is available by calling 202-225-8333 or visiting http://www.usbg.gov.
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