Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

My husband and I went for a day-​date this week, and it was beautiful. We had never been before and weren’t really sure what to expect, but I had read that spring time was the best time of year to visit. We were thoroughly pleased with the trip. The weather was beautiful, and so many wildflowers were in bloom.
There were several activity stations for children so families with children will be able to enjoy themselves. There’s also a café to enjoy a nice meal. Bring plenty of water as it was pretty warm even though its still early in the season. I’d say plan for at least and hour and a half if you don’t plan to do much other than walk around and take pictures. 2 – 3 hours if you’ve got little kids who would want to play.
It’s definitely all about flowers and nature, so if video games and race cars are your thing then this might not be your favorite place. But if you can appreciate beautiful flowers and nature, then you won’t be disappointed

Beautiful! The people who work here are lovely, and the grounds have surprises at every turn. We were completely charmed by the melodious chimes hanging in some of the trees. In fact, we were so enamored of the sound, we bought our own set at the fun gift shop! If you are in the Austin area of Texas (or anywhere in Texas) try to visit this beautiful park/​wildflower center. BTW, there’s a wonderful area for kids to play.

The first time I came here was during Christmas time to see the lights, it was super cute. Very well done I love strolling around, it was a cold night then. But I enjoyed it and it was great for the can donation.
I finally had the opportunity to return recently during the evening for a wedding that was held here. It was unfortunate that the Flowers weren’t in high bloom this year. I hear the waitlist to have a wedding here is crazy. But it was a beautiful wedding. I don’t believe renting the venue comes with anything else besides the venue. But it was really nice to have the entire place to ourselves. The only thing I think that is lacking is the amount of bathrooms and the locations. The bathrooms weren’t very well maintained either. Which is bummer when everyone is nicely dressed for a wedding. But it is a beautiful place to visit as well regardless of the occasion. I would definitely take out of towners here when the flowers are in high bloom, much safer than stopping on the side of the highway like most people do.

Beautiful grounds. Well kept with many facilities. Good to walk around, take pictures and enjoy the day. Picnics are welcome. A+

Love this place so much! I almost hate posting about it because I selfishly want to keep it a secret. If you live in south Austin or find yourself south a lot it will totally be worth your $ to get a membership. There are things for all ages to do and see. When you walk in there is currently an owl who has made a nest in the upper right hand corner of the interest you can see and learn about owls. There is the family garden, tower, butterfly garden, tiny house for kids, and my favorite– all the different varieties of swings off the large oak trees in the arboretum.
We are members. It’s $ 60 for a couples pass for a year and kids 5 and under are free.

We went to celebrate Mud Day and had a great time. We got to do some touring and then went to the mud. The mud might have been little much for our little one but after we got to lay down and relax in the grass. Then we did some walking. We will definitely be going back for more flower fun

Very pretty place to be. Be sure to use your college ID to get a student discount.

My daughter and I love it there! It is an exciting, exhausting trip! Make sure you have plenty of water!!! With little kids it is difficult to see the whole garden, so we’re going to have to go back to explore the other side! There is a tower! Very cool! My daughter didn’t want to go back down because she was «Rapunzel»!

This place is lovely, and is a beautiful showcase for Texas’s well known wildflowers. For once you aren’t just watching them flash by on the roaadside! They are well-​labeled and abundant.
There are some gardens/​plots, but also a huge open meadow filled with flowers, which you can view perfectly from the top of a nearby stone tower. Other attractions include a small labyrinth, assorted ponds with native wildlife, and statuary of animals of the area (coyote, wolves, bobcat and so on.)
There are beautiful buildings, mostly made of limestone blocks, that don’t distract from the main focus of nature.
It’s nice that there are lots of places to sit along the way, especially if it is a hot day.
As you stroll, you are surrounded by the soothing tones of large wind chimes (same brand I have seen sold at the Renaissance faire; you can also buy here at the gift shop!)
Something particularly cool is the great horned owl who nests in a high corner of one outdoor arch. Be quiet and watch for him rustling around behind some protective foliage!
The center has a small but well appointed gift shop, with lots of wildflower and Texas presents.
There is a $ 10 entry fee for adults (vs $ 8 to get into her husband’s library, wtf. I firmly believe that any library should be free.)
Overall this is a lovely legacy to the former first lady and a beautiful gift to the state of Texas.

We joined the Wildflower center mostly for early access to the plant sales. Its all about getting some native and local plants and trees for our land. The community here is great and the staff is always helpful and friendly.
The membership gives you a one day head start and early access to the plants and tree sale. We usually fill up our car and then spend the next few weeks distributing our finds onto our landscape.
We keep coming back for the high quality flora and great environment and people.

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this before. I came here a couple of years ago during the summer and explored the grounds and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. This time, we went there to experience the luminarias on display. Since it was dark outside, the gardens weren’t available, but it is winter anyway, so most wild flowers aren’t in season. Nice little kid’s activity center that I hung out with my granddaughter while she played with hand puppets, read books, and created fabulous works of art. Nice (and FREE) thing to do in Austin. Parking was a bit of a pain, but we didn’t mind hoofing it a couple of blocks.

This beautiful space offers free entrance for the entire month of January, so if you’ve never made the trek down to South Austin, calendar your trip now.
My boyfriend and I came here last evening for the annual Luminations event — thousands of twinkles and soft lighting for the paths through the gorgeous grounds. Entry was the low low cost of two canned goods apiece for donation to the Capital Area Food Bank. The space was super romantic and there were several other couples strolling hand in hand out in the nature preserve with us. The free live music, ornament making from paper pulp, and photo ops with Frosty the Snowman were all icing on the cake. Maybe it had to do with the rain or our after 8pm arrival, but we were able to get onsite parking and everyone — from the maintenance crews to the performers to the volunteers — seemed genuinely happy to be there and that we could share the night with them. Five star event!
I’ve also been to the Wildflower Center during the day — the flowers are plentiful, colorful, and varied. The Center offers landscaping classes in conjunction with the University of Texas informal classes series.
This is one of the jewels of Austin. You owe yourself a trip.

I’ve got lots of love for Lady Bird and the entire Johnson family, but not a lot of love for nature, so this place was unsurprisingly just meh for me. I think visiting in December versus spring didn’t help… There were very little wildflowers to be seen.
We somehow came on a day when the $ 9 adult admission was waived, so we decided to go on back and see what was shaking. The gift shop is pretty large and cool, and later that day they had a cookbook signing and «tastings,» which turned out to be some crackers and a bowl of gourmet pimiento cheese by the author, which we said thanks but no thanks to.
They were also hosting a community event which we awkwardly stumbled in to, so this may be a good place to hold such a thing… I know wedding rental prices are very steep here.
They also had a small artists building but nothing was too appealing. The spiral stairs to the top of the overlook aren’t as bad as they seem and are worth going up for.
Try to go on a potentially free day in the spring, otherwise I’d recommend skipping it.

This is an absolutely gorgeous place to take company from out of town. There aren’t just a handful of wildflowers here; more like 1 species every 2 feet. This makes for an entertaining game of «Ooo, I have that in my garden» and «Oh, I’ve always wanted one of those!». My sister, the outdoorsy one, was just amazed. She couldn’t believe how impressive the entire area was. I feel like I couldn’t go there again and still not see all that there is to offer.
You can tell there is passion in the area by those who volunteer. They know there stuff! I was commenting on a certain set of flowers when a volunteer came over just to provide more information. It wasn’t intrusive, it was interesting! Even the gift shop is impressive. Yes, they have the typical buy this earring, get one free. But they also have some very cool things that you won’t find anywhere else. Ask them about their cork designer purses and wallets; it’s definitely cool!

It’s really amazing, I wish it cost less but it’s worth it if you’re there all day! We had a great time and took incredible photos. There is also art and a café. Check out the high tower! Awesome place! Family garden is a must also

This is a pretty good diversion out in the Austin area. It’s a very well crafted and laid out garden, but it’s also not overly kitchy and it is very well maintained.
It showcases native desert plants and wildflowers of the area, and they are truly impressive. There’s even some great little waterfalls and fish ponds that are filled with turtles and some of the most colorful dragonflies I’ve ever seen (red ones?!).
Staff are very courteous, water stations are around everywhere, and the indoor exhibits offer also a break from the hot heat as they are supper air conditioned. Real nice open space and there’s also places for kids to run around in as well so they wont be bored.
It’s not overly large either, just about the right size to kill some time while visiting the Austin area.

We are avid supporters of the wildflower center for the beautiful exhibits, the knowledge sharing/​building and awareness regarding native plants, and the friendliness of the staff. We have been here multiple times. It’s one of my favorite ways to spend a beautiful blue sky Austin weekend. Also the bi-​annual plants sales are a great way to get some native plants and discounted if you are a member. They are still growing in our yard even through the tough drought this past year and not sucking up all our water. The café inside also has yummy food! The only negative I have is that it is a longer drive for us, since we are up north of Austin! I wish it was closer lol. There are a variety of events throughout the year. I especially like the Artisan festival!
Now it is still a garden so if you’re not a garden kinda person then you may be bored. Also expect plants that may or may not be in bloom, since they can’t control this crazy weather in Austin. Lots of butterflies everywhere in the Spring!

Breathtaking beauty all year round.
I fell in love with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. My out of town friend and I went here for the first time and I fell in love with the natural native beauty. They grow native plants year round, so there is always something to see. Which I was surprised as it is the middle of fall. You can check out their website for what is blooming currently. They have informative tours during the day educating you on how to grow local plants, and much more. They also have some interesting demonstration gardens that can give you some different ideas for your own home garden.
I love the variety of trails you can choose from. Some are currently closed due to construction on a new area. However, outside the inner walls of the courtyard there are loops which take you further out and are definitely worth exploring. Especially those into the Oak Trees with swings. I love that you can just wander throughout the gardens, loose track of time, and at moments be surrounded by several butterflies enjoying the fall sunshine like yourself. There is also a café and children’s education/​activity spot with a exhibit area for rotating exhibits. The café food is surprisingly pretty good.
If you see yourself coming more often with out of town guests, then you should definitely consider a membership. The cost of your entrance for your first time, will be deducted from the price. Plus, part of it is tax deductible, you get discounts on plant sales, discounts in the fantastic gift shop, free future entrance, and reciprocal benefits at other botanical gardens within the US, such as free entrance to Umlauf Sculpture Garden in Austin. I definitely plan on coming often, as this is my new retreat get away and think spot. There are many benches throughout the center that you can sit and curl up on with a good book.

I’m upping my review by a star. Why? Well, I had a better experience at LBJWC this time around. There were a lot of wildflowers blooming, it was peaceful and I got a lot of great pictures.
I noticed between my visits, they have updated the walking paths tremendously which was great to see. There were a lot of volunteers on site working hard, and everyone was very friendly. I also visited the gift shop this time around and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of variety in the items that they carried. I didn’t buy anything, however, as I found the prices for everything I was considering a bit high. The artisan work they house here for sale, however, was quite unique and refreshing.
I’m still reserving two stars, though. I’d really like to see this place get bigger with more flower displays and gardens. They have actually upped the admissions price, ($ 8 last time I came) to $ 9 per person — wow.
Ultimately, I had a great time and definitely will make an effort to go back sooner instead of a few years. Like I said before, this is a great organization and it has a lot of potential to be fantastic — it just isn’t quite there yet.

Def didn’t know this place existed until my mom wanted to check it off her Things to do in Austin list.
9 $ per adult? That’s a bit steep to walk trails, and look at flowers. Then to get RAINED on. It’s funny how the park office, café, and info center close at 4pm unless it rains, then the whole exhibit closes. But on regular day the park is open Past 4pm. Weird.
Quick tip: Head to the outdoor classrooms if you get caught in the rain, the cement work tables act as mini storm shelters. They also offer a better photographical advantage for getting a good angle.
The different species are varied, labeled, and beautiful. Huisache tree, was by far the best.
Check out the observation tower, great view of the entire park from over three stories up.
Funny thing is all I could think about was making it a bonus tee pad for a disc golf course. Drive your favorites disc from THREE stories above the range.
I’ll be back to take the virtual tour using the qr codes at every turn. Had a wonderful time.
Military discount at entrance -$ 1 on fee