"Where Flowers Bloom, So Does Hope."

When we drove to Dawsonville on State Route 400 the other day to go to the Kangaroo Conservation Center (which is then twelve miles or so off the highway down a beautiful twisty country road), we were chatting away in the car, listening to music, when suddenly my younger daughter pointed and gasped at something so breathtaking. Wildflowers. The meridian of the highway was planted end-to-end with wildflowers that were in grand, abundant bloom as far as the eyes could see. (Check out the rather pixillated 19-second video above for a glimpse.)

Turns out that there are a series of highway beautification programs across the United States, originally kicked off by the Beautification Act of 1965, which was the realization of the vision of First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson. According to The University of Texas at Austin's Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's website:

Known as "Lady Bird's Bill" because of her active support, the legislation called for control of outdoor advertising, including removal of certain types of signs along the nation's Interstate system and the existing federal-aid primary system. It also required certain junkyards along Interstate or primary highways to be removed or screened and encouraged scenic enhancement and roadside development.

It is part of that legacy that today the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 requires that at least 0.25 of 1 percent of funds expended for landscaping projects in the highway system be used to plant native flowers, plants and trees.

The term beautification concerned Mrs. Johnson, who feared it was "cosmetic" and "trivial." She emphasized that it meant much more-"clean water, clean air, clean roadsides, safe waste disposal and preservation of valued old landmarks as well as great parks and wilderness areas."

According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, The Wildflower Program in Georgia began in 1974 when Mrs. Virginia Hand Callaway, then chair of the Birds and Wildflowers Committee of The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc., spearheaded the movement to plant and protect wildflowers on the roadsides. Later, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and several Garden Club of Georgia members met with Lady Bird Johnson to discuss the highly-successful Texas Wildflower Program. Following a trip to Texas, the women presented their ideas to Georgia DOT Commissioner Downing Musgrove, who enthusiastically endorsed the program for implementation here.

Apparently, not only do the wildflowers beautify the roads but they reduce maintainance (and the fewer the gas mowers out there, the better!)

Returning back to the metro Atlanta area, where the highway had recently been widened and all that separated the two directions of traffic was a concrete wall, I missed the wildflowers. But I will find a way to plant some, perhaps here, in my soon-to-be-city of Dunwoody (which starts operating officially December 1). Because as Lady Bird Johnson said, "Where flowers bloom, so does hope."

And so I hope.