Motorists in the Waco District will be treated to a record number of wildflowers this summer — and especially next spring — thanks to 3,700 pounds of seeds to be planted across rural sections of the district's state highway network and some sections of I-35.
Eye-popping colors will appear from 12 different wildflowers being seeded in the Waco District as part of TxDOT's Green Ribbon Program, funded by the Texas Legislature and begun in 2002 to combat air quality concerns. The program "allocates funding for landscaping and other enhancement activities" designed to help clean the air.
Plains Coreopsis. Note the bee pollinating the flower.
"For the first time, some cities within the Waco District were determined to be near non-attainment for air quality standards," explains Waco District Landscape Architect Betsy Pittman. "I'm told that the status is not all that surprising considering the increase in vehicle capacity along I-35."
As a result of the near non-attainment status, the Waco District was allocated $125,000 for FY 2019. Pittman hopes to receive that amount or more next year. More than $21 million has been allocated this year by the legislature to 13 TxDOT districts determined to have air-quality concerns. The Houston District received the most Green Ribbon Program Funding ($6.5 million) and the Waco District received the least.
Indian Blanket.
"For a variety of reasons, I've decided to allocate all of this year's funding towards wildflower seeds, mainly because of the timing of the funding. Each county will receive approximately 500 pounds of seeds. The maintenance supervisors in each county will determine where to plant those seeds," Pittman says, pointing out that the supervisors know where the flowers will be best utilized in their county.
Unless you're a wildflower expert, chances are you won't recognize some of the names of the flowers to be seeded. Here's a list, in case you want to Google their colors: Indian Blanket, Blackeyed Susan, Plains Coreopsis, Showy Evening Primrose, Tahoka Daisy, Lemon Mint, Engelmann Daisy, Blanket Flower, Missouri Evening Primrose, Scarlet Sage, Clasping Leaf Coneflower, Indian Paintbrush, and Lance Leaf Coreopsis.
Indian Paintbrush and Bluebonnets.
Pittman will order bluebonnet seeds this summer to prepare for the fall seeding. Most of the recent I-35 construction project contracts included bluebonnet seeding, as is evident by the number of flowers emerging already this spring.
"With the addition of all these new flowers, the pollinators — the bees and butterflies — will really benefit from this seeding effort, too," Pittman says.
Jake Smith
I-35 Public Information Officer
254-867-2705
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