Wildflower fiesta at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, and other early wildflowers bloomed in solitude this spring at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, which closed in mid-March due to the pandemic and Austin’s shelter-in-place order. Happily, the gardens reopened last weekend to members, who must reserve in advance a specific arrival time on the website. I grabbed a Saturday morning time slot, got my mask and camera ready, and arrived bright and early on reopening day.
Oh, how I’d missed this place! The late spring wildflowers like purple coneflower, firewheel, and thistle look glorious. So I’m going to let the flowers do the talking in this post. Enjoy!
I’ll end with the entry kiosk and its wildflowery green roof, and a masked visitor as a sign of the times.
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Digging Deeper
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All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Beautiful photos, Pam! I’m glad you got a chance to drop by for the wildflower display. My local botanic garden has remained open, albeit with the same requirement of advance scheduling.
I’m grateful to the garden staff for finding a way to make it work. It must be incredibly challenging opening a public space during a pandemic, not to mention staffing the place with volunteers who do so much in the way of weeding and other maintenance.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures and kind words!! As a employed gardener at the WFC, I will have to say it wasnt easy getting the gardens prepped and ready for re-opening without the help of our volunteers (who we’ve been without since right before the shelter-in-place went into effect). With only 6 gardeners, 3 arborist/natural areas staff and the help of the nursery staff we worked relentlessly in an attempt to make the gardens look just as good (if not better) than they were the day we closed! All I can say is- boy do we miss our volunteers!!
GardenBoss, I am now even more impressed with the gardens, knowing how few people you had to get them into shape for reopening. You guys must be absolute dynamos! Thanks for commenting, and huge thanks again for giving members a chance to visit the gardens during this challenging time.
Glad you were able to get back, that system makes a lot of sense and hopefully more gardens will follow the example.
I hope so too. We need access to gardens more than ever right now, for our sanity.
Such loveliness in nature. Your photos bring it all into magnified and crisp view. And you revealed something that I’ve missed all the times that I’ve gone–the kiosk has a green roof! I’m glad for the rain this week–so it may prolong those lovely blooms long enough for others to make the trek and see it for ourselves! Plus, our home landscapes really need it–things were starting to dry out too much in advance of summer heat right around the corner. Maybe my giant coneflower will start flowering now, too.
I’m grateful for the rain today too. We need a good soaking. Thanks for visiting, Beverly!
Pam, as usual your photos are just beautiful and I’m so glad you were able to enjoy the Wildflower Center within the safe distancing parameters. I recently introduced an Austin homeowner to your books and blog to help in her heroic efforts to improve her home landscape and she was so grateful. Currently, my already limited gardening efforts are confined to the windowsill in my room in a skilled nursing facility as I fell and fractured my femur in three places a month ago. So your blog especially brightens my day and I’m enjoying this one and many of your previous postings as well. Thank you so much for sharing and I hope you and your family stay safe, healthy, and happy in these trying times.
Oh Laurie, I’m so sorry to hear about your fractured leg! Ouch! A windowsill garden can bring a lot of joy, and I’m glad you have one. 🙂 Thanks for your lovely, encouraging comment and for sharing Digging and my books with your friends! Here’s to staying safe and getting back out into gardens when we can. Hugs to you!
Beautiful. One of my favorite places to visit.
Mine too, Dorothy.
thank you so much for this! How i have missed going there, too. This brightened up my stormy afternoon!
You are very welcome, Jeanne! Thanks for visiting.
Beautiful photos and such a wonderful variety of wildflowers!
Thanks, Ellie. I was delighted to see so many beautiful flowers blooming, especially in the meadows that surround the main gardens.
Just what was needed on this cool and cloudy day! Thank you.
My pleasure, Gail. Thanks for stopping by!
Our Kirstenbosch is still closed, but their nursery is open. Maximum of 6 customers at a time.
I hope the gardens are able to be safely opened soon, Diana. And by the way, I’d love to see the Kirstenbosch one day!
Beautiful post Pam- I hope to see that garden again one day without the deluge ! Though it would involve getting on a plane . The Ruth Bancroft Garden also opened today for members with strict guidelines. I’m looking forward to going .
And I have happy memories of visiting the Ruth Bancroft Garden at San Francisco Fling, even though it was an oven-like 100 degrees that day. Let’s both make it happen — return visits on days with better weather for enjoying the gardens! Do come back sometime, Kris. 🙂
Utterly lovely. I hope to visit again sometime. The Austin Fling was so much fun.
It remains a highlight of all my years in Austin to have been able to share Austin’s gardens and our community with my blogging friends from around the U.S. and beyond. I’m so glad you came, HB!
Beautiful plants Mam. My favourite are Cactuses, Basket and Cypress (looking like a Christmas Tree). Its great to look outside window, and just see beautiful nature colors blooming around. So inspiring post. Godbless.
I’m glad you enjoyed the virtual tour. Thanks for stopping by!
Lovely!
Thanks, Cindy!
[…] up at limited capacity. I immediately went online and secured tickets for the Wildflower Center (click for my recent visit) and SABG, which is honoring reciprocal memberships with other botanical gardens, so I got in for […]