Her connection to the city of Austin began early in life

A field of bluebells in Texas. Wikimedia Commons

Growing up, Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor had always "found solace in the outdoors, in the beauty of nature," said Betty Boyd Caroli, author of "Lady Bird and Lyndon: The Hidden Story of a Marriage That Made a President."

This passion for flowers and the outdoors also sparked Taylor's love for the capital of Texas.

"The 17-year-old Lady Bird first saw Austin in the spring of 1930 when she flew down, from her home about 300 miles to the East, to look at the University of Texas and consider enrolling there," Caroli said. "She fell in love with the city immediately and called it a 'magical place' for her."

As the future First Lady's plane landed, she looked out the window and saw a sea of bluebonnets in bloom.

"She had never seen so many bluebonnets in one space before, and it was the sight of the field of flowers set against the brushy range that made her want to move to Austin," writes Jan Jarboe Russell in "Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson." "'It was as though the gates of the world flung open for me,' she said. 'I felt in in love with life itself.'"