The right-of-ways and medians of Highway 71 are filled with wildflowers from Austin to Columbus during the spring. Although Lady Bird Johnson is greatly responsible for the program to promote the growth of these wildflowers, in 1934 the Texas Department of Transportation began to delay mowing of right-of-ways until the blooming season was over. By 1940 it is estimated that 500,000 pounds of wildflower seeds had been distributed along the highways of Texas.