THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407200140
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Lady Bird Johnson would be pleased. The Suffolk District of the Virginia Department of Transportation now has about 40 acres of wildflowers in full, splendid bloom in highway rights-of-way.
She'd like Robert Johnson, too. He's the guy who supervises the plantings, carrying out the district's vision of having every square inch of state-maintained right-of-way ablaze with wildflowers of every colorful variety.
You've surely noticed the displays - from a massive planting of yellow daylilies in a raised bed at Greenwood Drive on U.S. 264 to the burnt-orange Cosmos near Bowers Hill. The flowers are eye-pleasing surprises for anyone navigating otherwise bland stretches of highway that generally look the same whether you're in Virginia or Mississippi.
There's method to this blooming madness. With self-perpetuating wildflowers in the rights-of-way, highway workers are spared a great deal of mowing with polluting machinery, and that means the workers can spend time meeting other needs.
The department is considering ways to make signs at the plantings more attractive than the ``Wildflowers/do not mow'' signs on stakes.
A suggestion: Combine the change with a memorial-gift program and information on the flowers. For example, co-workers might want a living memorial to a friend killed in an auto accident on U.S. Route 17. A small, attractive sign might say: ``Daisies/in memory of/Tom Adams.''
This would encourage public contributions, especially in memory of friends and family members who were flower lovers, and give survivors a safe way to mark the sites of auto fatalities.
The department will work with individuals or groups willing to do rights-of-way plantings themselves, but they can't just go out and plant anything, anywhere. Safety and consistency are considerations, so contact Mr. Johnson first: 925-2500. by CNB