Highway beauty, part 2

Spring's wild poppies and cornflower in bloom off I-695, Catonsville, MD

In January 1965, President Lyndon Johnson said, "I want to make sure that the America we see from these major highways is a beautiful America." He said this as he signed the bill for the Highway Beautification Act.

Lady Bird Johnson, Beautification/wildflower Advocate

His wife, Lady Bird, not only brought attention to the ugliness on our nation's highways, she convinced her husband to consider fixing the problem with this bill. It sounded like a wonderful idea, but it didn't happen quickly. Congress was in session over 14 hours the day the bill was presented. The House didn't pass it until almost one in the morning, the final vote was 245 to 138.

Spring wildflowers in Maryland

All I can say is thank God it was passed. To think of living in a world where giant billboards and advertisements were the norm instead of nature's wildest, makes me queasy. Thanks to this act, driving on America's highways became much more tolerable and in many areas, quite beautiful.

These are but a few images of highway beauty I found in my travels.

Wild hollyhock grows off Rt. 30 in Hampstead, MD

"Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid."
~Lady Bird Johnson


Wild poppies,  I-795, Owings Mills, MD


"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
~Lady Bird Johnson


Queen Anne's Lace off main road in Manchester, MD


"The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become."
~Lady Bird Johnson


To learn more about highway beautification, visit:

http://www.sha.state.md.us/ImprovingOurCommunity/OED/wildFlower/wildflower.asp

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/beauty.cfm

http://www.wildflower.org/

Fall cosmos and coreopsis, Rt 3, Crownsville, MD