Flowers along interstate highways and cherry trees in Washington, D.C., now seem commonplace, but before Lady Bird Johnson turned her attention to beautifying the country, junkyards and haphazard signs were more the norm. A companion to her husband’s Great Society initiatives, Mrs. Johnson’s conservation and beautification efforts endure today.

Mrs. Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Johnson, died last week at the age of 94. She was buried yesterday at the family’s private cemetery at the LBJ ranch, which was known as the Texas White House and is now run by the National Park Service.

“Ugliness is so grim,” Mrs. Johnson said decades ago. “A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony, which lessens tensions.”

Lessening tensions was a hallmark of Mrs. Johnson’s time in the White House. Her husband was sworn in as president hours after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Lyndon Johnson inherited an increasingly divisive war in Vietnam and a country grappling with racial and economic disparities. He was so distraught by the course of the Vietnam War that Mrs. Johnson kept a black dress in her closet at the White House in case her husband succumbed to a heart attack. He did in 1973, five years after declining to seek a second election to the White House.

The Vietnam War overshadowed President Johnson’s landmark work on civil rights, health care and poverty.

During his presidency, Mrs. Johnson, who came by her moniker shortly after her birth when a maid commented that she was “purty as a lady bird,” was a calming influence but also a pioneer.

The Highway Beautification Act of 1965 was the result of the first legislative campaign launched by a first lady. The act led to the planting of trees and flowers and fewer billboards along the country’s highways. She was also instrumental in beautifying the nation’s capital, ensuring that flowers and cherry trees surrounded the nation’s monuments.

“She was one of the greatest voices for American conservation of her generation and her commitment to protecting our natural resources inspired our nation to strengthen its conservation ethic. Her touch remains visible today,” said Larry Schweiger, president of the National Wildlife Federation.