Idaho Mountain Wildflowers

Our trip to the Idaho side of the Grand Tetons was a beautiful one. We were there at the right time, just when all the mountain wildflowers were starting to bloom. I miss is already. The mountains in Georgia are not nearly the same.

Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson was my kind of first lady.. She was a lover of the earth. She practiced what she preached. She was a human being who left her soulprint on the world. Her legacy will surely carry on and help the world to be a better place. She modeled conservationism at its best.



"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.

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 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.

The Land Restoration Program uses the science of healing and renewing damaged and even destroyed ecological systems to restore balance to the landscape. 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."

This information was gathered from http://www.wildflower.org

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)

Who has heard of the wonderful medicinal properties of the echinacea?? I have friends who would live and die by the stuff, esp. when they get sick.. This flower is native to the Eastern US and grows like wildfire if left to propigate itself.. I had one plant of it last year, which turned into 15 new ones this year.. I really don't mind.. I like the flower. It does tolerate a variety of climates, which makes it ideal for growers all over..

I suspect this was another medicinal plant used by my ancestors when they crossed the plains on their pioneer trek.. It is one of the most widely used herbs now and was then as well. It's claims include helping one with their immune systems, before and after an illness begins. It is too keep one in "Good Health".. Personally it doesn't work for me, what are your takes on it?