Wildflowers: Explore Hill Country flora, more

LEISURE
www.FortHoodSentinel.com
June 4, 2015
B7
Wildflowers: Explore Hill Country flora, more
Continued from B1
the center, and it is something
to check out when visiting with
smaller children.
Another great spot for families
with kids at the gardens is the
Little House. This area is made
especially for children – it even
has a child-sized door for them
to enter through. (Adults can use
it; however, they’ll just have to
duck down to about a 6-year-old’s
height – I know, because I made
it through that door.) The Little
House has books, activities, toys,
and arts and crafts all centered
around Texas’ native wildflowers
and butterflies.
The center’s more involved
areas include the Plant Conservation Program, which is housed
in the Research Building and is
focused on protecting the ecological heritage of Texas by conserv-
ing its rare or endangered plants.
The Land Restoration Program
is another one, which applies
knowledge of ecological processes
to restoring damaged landscapes.
Education programs are available
for children and adults to learn
things like how to grow native
plants on their own.
There are also venues for rent at
the gardens for weddings, birthday parties, corporate functions
and more. Having a wedding in
the gardens would be a gorgeous
way to celebrate the big day, and
the pricing varies by season, but
it’s all available online.
The center’s website features a
section dedicated to what’s currently in bloom, down to the
week. Right now, rock roses,
elderberries, cone flowers, chocolate daisies, sacred thorn apples,
sunflowers, wild petunias, winecups, Mexican hats and more are
Inside the research building, guests can get out of the heat and read about the
flowers more in depth. On my visit, I walked the gardens first, and then stopped
into the building to read about what I’d already looked at.
Photos by Erin Rogers, Sentinel Leisure Editor
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin has at least 10 different gardens to walk through and explore. Photo
opportunities are plentiful in the gardens, and benches are placed throughout the grounds for a place to rest, or to just sit
and take in the beauty of the Texas landscapes set up around the center.
in bloom at the center, and they
are all extremely colorful, as flowers should be.
There are programs to explore
at the center and things to view in
the auditorium that teach visitors
everything from pollination and
invasive species, to sustainability
and conservation.
I recommend visiting the center
with the whole family. The cafe
also has a great selection of treats
and refreshments for a halfway
resting point in the day.
Find out more about the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
by visiting www.wildflower.org or
calling (512) 232-0200
Gift shops at the wildflowers center house everything from flower seeds and home decor, to clothing and tasteful yard
decor. There is also a cafe on the wildflower center’s grounds.
Looking for Native American
Indians, alaskan Natives, or Native
Hawaiians needing assistance
finding employment or vocation
training.
Must be a member of a U.S.
Federally recognized tribe with a
supporting document from a U.S.
Federally recognized Tribe’s Tribal
Rolls and Records office & reside
within our designated service area
in TX.
Workforce Investment Act Section 166,
20CFR 668.300(a) (1) An Indian, (2) Alaskan
Native, or (3) Native Hawaiian as determined
by a policy of the Native American Grantee.