Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center & Native Plant Information Network

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Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Ave.
Austin, Texas 78739

Lady Bird Johnson, our former first lady, 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 special place exists to introduce people to the beauty and diversity of wildflowers and other native plants. Every day, the Wildflower Center brings life to Mrs. Johnson's vision in its public gardens, its woodlands and sweeping meadows as well as in internationally influential research. In 2006, the Center became an Organized Research Unit of the University of Texas at Austin.

Wildflower Center Mission

The mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants and landscapes.

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 display the native plants of the Central Texas Hill Country, South and West Texas, while the Plant Conservation Program protects the ecological heritage of Texas by conserving its rare and endangered flora.

The Native Plant Information Network is a database of more than 7,200 native species available online. From this page you can explore the wealth of native plants in North America. Use the options to search for 7,016 native plants by scientific or common name or choose a particular family of plants. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the combination search or our Recommended Species lists.
Search by:

• State or Provence,
• Habitat,
• Duration/Lifespan,
• Light requirement,
• Soil moisture, or
• Bloom characteristics (time and color).

The Land Restoration Program applies knowledge of ecological processes to restoring damaged landscapes. The Center’s education programs for children and adults teach people about their natural surroundings and how to grow native plants in their own backyards.

Rainwater Harvesting at the Wildflower Center

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lives its mission by serving as a model for total resource conservation. The Center's rainwater harvesting system is an integral part of its architecture and demonstrates the importance of connecting human culture with the natural world. The collection system was installed in 1995 not only to conserve water, but to serve as a public education tool. The Center collects water from 17,000 square feet of roof space and can store more than 60,000 gallons in on-site cisterns.

How is the water used?

• The collected rainwater provides approximately 10 - 15% of the Center's yearly water needs for irrigation of gardens and landscaping.
• The total storage capacity of the various cisterns and storage tanks is more than 60,000 gallons.

How To Articles:

• How to Grow Bluebonnets
• Landscaping with Native Plants
• Wildflower Meadow Gardening
• Native Lawns
• Butterfly Gardening Resources
• Water Gardening
• Creating a Wildlife Garden
• How to buy Wildflower Seeds in Bulk
• Guidelines for Seed Collecting
• Planting Wildflowers along Roadsides
• Container Gardening with Native Plants
• Rainwater Harvesting
• Large Scale Wildflower Planting
• How to Make Seed Balls
• Alternatives to Wildflower Collecting
• Wildlife Gardening Bibliography

The Wildflower Center is located in Southwest Austin, Texas.