"Where flowers bloom, so does hope" ~ Lady Bird Johnson

Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor 3yrs

Anniversary of the Highway Beautification Act
Claudia Alta Taylor, later known as Lady Bird Johnson was nicknamed in childhood by a nurse that declared she was as "purty as a ladybird". The reference was actually to the black and red ladybird beetles we call commonly "ladybug" in Michigan.

But the reference to beauty in nature was very apt. Mrs. Johnson was an active worker on innumerable projects to protect the environment. Throughout her time as First Lady at the White House, she fought to make American cities more beautiful and played a big part in passing the Highway Beautification Act, in the Senate on September 16, 1965.


Image via Wikipedia

"Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson
(12/22/12 – 7/11/07)

The act called for control of outdoor advertising along the nation's growing Interstate Highway System. It also encouraged scenic enhancement and roadside development. Patches of wildflowers were seeded in interstate medians. Green spaces were created. Her beliefs regarding the importance of national beautification can best be summarized in her statement that "where flowers bloom, so does hope."

In 1982, Mrs. Johnson founded the National Wildflower Research Center, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the preservation and re-establishment of native plants in natural and planned landscapes.

For more information go to: http://www.wildflower.org/