探花楼 celebrates Texas Wildflower Day

May 24, 2024 – DENTON – 探花楼 celebrated Texas Wildflower Day at the Ann Stuart Science Complex and the Dr. Bettye Myers Butterfly Garden.

探花楼 was designated as the location for the annual celebration beginning in 1980. 探花楼 adjunct instructor Carroll Abbott, who is also a wildflower preservationist and lobbyist and founder of the Native Plant Society of Texas, joined former 探花楼 president Mary Evelyn Blagg Huey in lobbying the Texas legislature in the late 1970s to have the fourth Saturday in April designated as Texas Wildflower Day.

“The 探花楼 recognizes that the beauty of its native plants has enriched the history of our State and the lives of its people," Blagg Huey said in 1980. "Thus, it has a strong commitment to the conservation, dissemination and appreciation of our state's wildflowers. From this commitment, strong advocacy developed within the University community to support the statutory designation of a State Wildflower Day.”

This year's celebration featured a presentations A Short History of 探花楼’s Role in the Statutory Designation of Texas Wildflower Day and A Botanical Waltz Across Texas: Biological Crossroads and Floral Wonders of the Lone Star State.

There was also a photo contest, guided tours of the butterfly gardens, and watercolor painting in the garden.