Good heroes are hard to come by and even harder to hold onto. I’ve been
snookered often enough by those I once admired — Woody Allen, Lena Guerrero,
Paul Theroux (how could he have written that crappy magician book?) — that I’m
hesitant to throw my favor behind anyone anymore. But I held firm on one:
Lady Bird Johnson. Ever since I wrote an article about the LBJ Library and
subsequently read (some of) Mrs. Johnson’s A White House Diary, a book
astounding in its detail, I’ve fanned a little flame for the former First Lady.
I started volunteering at the Wildflower Research Center, not only because I so
enjoy dragging hoses through poison ivy and agarita in August, but also because
I held out the slim hope I might meet Mrs. Johnson, the center’s benefactress,
someday.
That day came last Tuesday when 20 volunteer gardeners from the center had
their names drawn from among hundreds to participate in a fall wildflower
planting at the LBJ Ranch in Johnson City. It was cold and windy in the fields,
where we raked the clippings from closely shorn patches of grass, sprinkled in
seeds for bluebonnets, Indian blanket, horsemint, and a smattering of phlox,
which are priced like caviar. A movie crew had flown in from D.C. to do a
documentary about Mrs. Johnson for the park service and they bestowed upon us
gardeners the perfect sense of self-importance. I mean, stick a big video
camera in my face and I’ll suddenly believe that washing dishes is a
world-shattering event. Mrs. Johnson came out in the late morning and chatted
and laughed with everyone, except one very nervous admirer who was overtaken
with wholly unaccustomed shyness and lurked around on the perimeter of the
group, studying the ground and raking like a maniac.
I think the secret service guys had their eye on me. Then we followed Mrs.
Johnson inside for lunch. I still couldn’t think of a thing to say.
I’d about given up hope of even making eye contact with my idol and was
collecting acorns from a live oak tree for some Famous and Historic Tree
Association when she strolled by on her way to her waiting car. We had a brief
conversation about acorns (under the stern scrutiny of her guards) and then she
was gone.
But with a little rain, the wildflowers we planted will remain and they’ll
probably be better conversationalists than me. If you want to plant a
wildflower meadow, The National Wildflower Research Center offers the following
tips:
1. Plant in an open, sunny, well-drained area.
2. Plant a variety of native species, but don’t use wildflower seed mixes,
which can contain a high percentage of species from outside the natural
range.
3. Native grasses should comprise 50-80% of the meadow species.
4. Make sure you get good seed-to-soil contact by mowing the area, raking off
the thatch, scattering the seeds, and raking over the area lightly.
5. If rain doesn’t fall within the first couple of days after planting, try to
water the area thoroughly at least once.
I’m here at SuzyB@ix.netcom.com or The Austin Chronicle, PO
Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765.
This article appears in November 1 • 1996 and November 1 • 1996 (Cover).