Blooming Texas
Rudyard Kipling claimed that “gardens are not made by singing ‘oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade”, an observation shared by the creators of the botanical gardens that brighten all corners of the state today.
Possibly the first botanical garden established in Texas appeared in New Braunfels in 1844, courtesy of Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, a German immigrant and father of Texas botany, his home and gardens are open to the public.
San Antonio’s Japanese Tea Garden (formerly known as the “Sunken Gardens”) was forged from an abandoned limestone quarry and donated land during the early 1900s. Today, the newly-restored gardens, with their lilyponds and waterfalls, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other gardens like the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Corpus Christi, delight tourists and Texans alike with their showcase of beautiful native plants. In East Texas, the Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens provide a living museum for the region’s largest collection of native and cultivated plants. Perhaps one of the most recent additions to the state’s botanical garden portfolio is San Angelo’s International Waterlily Collection located in Civic League Park. The pond-floating lily collection, blooming from April to November, is considered among the premiere collections of lilies in existence and represents the life work of a Lindheimer-like Texan for our times – Ken Landon, who created the state’s official waterlily “Texas Dawn.”
Plains Trail Region
Amarillo Botanical Gardens
1400 Streit Drive Amarillo, TX 79106 (806) 352-6513 Website
Independence Trail Region
Antique Rose Emporium
10000 Farm-to-Market 50 Brenham, TX 77833 979-836-5548 or 800-441-0002 Website
Mountain Trail Region
Barton Warnock Visitor Center / Big Bend Ranch State Park
HC 70, P.O. Box 375 Terlingua, TX 79852 (432) 424-3327 Website
Independence Trail Region
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens/ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
6003 Memorial Drive at Westcott Street Houston, TX 77007 (713) 639-7750 Website
Forest Trail Region
Beaumont Botanical Gardens & Warren Loose Conservatory
6088 Babe Zaharias Drive Beaumont, TX 77705 (409) 842-3135 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Botanical Research Institute of Texas
1700 University Drive Fort Worth, TX 76107 (817) 332-4441 Website
Forest Trail Region
BUU MON Buddhist Temple
2701 Procter Ave Port Arthur, TX 77642 (409) 982-9319 Website
Forest Trail Region
Captain Ron’s Gator Park, Petting Zoo and Gardens
3846 FM-2198 Uncertain , TX 75661 (903) 789-2100
Mountain Trail Region
Centennial Museum/Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at The University of Texas at El Paso
500 West University Ave El Paso, TX 79968 915-747-5000 or 915-747-5565 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Clark Gardens Botanical Park
567 Maddux Road Weatherford, TX 76068 (940) 682-4856 Website
Tropical Trail Region
South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center
8545 South Staples Corpus Christi, TX 78413 (361) 852-2100 Website
Forest Trail Region
Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center
2111 West Park Avenue Orange, TX 77630 (409) 670-9113 Website
Mountain Trail Region
Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center and Botanical Gardens
43901 State Highway 118 Fort Davis, TX 79734 (432) 364-2499 Website
Hill Country Trail Region
San Antonio Botanical Garden
555 Funston Place San Antonio , TX 78209 (210) 536-1400 Website
Lakes Trail Region
The Rose Garden of Farmers Branch
2610 Valley View Lane Farmers Branch, TX 75234 (972) 919-2625 Website
Lakes Trail Region
Texas Discovery Gardens
3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Dallas, TX 75210 (214) 428-7476 Website
Forest Trail Region
Helen Lee Estate Daffodil Gardens
21600 CR 3103 Gladewater, TX 75647 (903) 845-5780 Website
Forest Trail Region
Palestine Engeling Wildlife Management Area
16149 North US Hwy 287 Tennessee Colony, TX 75861 (903) 928-2251 Website
Hill Country Trail Region
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Ave. Austin, TX 78739 (512) 232-0100 Website
Forts Trail Region
International Water Lily Collection
2 South Park Street San Angelo, TX 76903 (325) 657-4450 Website
Tropical Trail Region
National Butterfly Center
3333 Butterfly Park Drive Mission, TX 78572 (956) 583-5400 Website
Hill Country Trail Region
Zilker Botanical Garden
2220 Barton Springs Austin, TX 78746 (512) 477-8672 Website
Forest Trail Region
Mast Arboretum — Stephen F. Austin State University
1924 Wilson Dr Nacogdoches, TX 75964 (936) 468-1832 Website
Forest Trail Region
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden and Museum
420 Rose Park Dr. Tyler, TX 75702 (903) 531-1212 Website
Forest Trail Region
Governor Jim Hogg City Park
518 S. Main Quitman, TX 75783 (903) 763-4411 Website
Forest Trail Region
East Texas Arboretum and Botanical Society
1601 Patterson Road Athens, TX 75751 (903) 675-5630 Website
Mountain Trail Region
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
4301 Transmountain Road El Paso, TX 79924 (915) 755-4332 Website
Brazos Trail Region
Earle Harrison House
1901 North 5th Street Waco , TX 76708 (254) 753-2032 Website
Tropical Trail Region
World Birding Center/Quinta Mazatlan
600 Sunset Drive McAllen, TX 78503 (956) 681-3370 Website
Independence Trail Region
Round Top Festival Institute
248 Jaster Road Round Top, TX 78954 (979) 249-3129 Website
Mountain Trail Region
Keystone Heritage Park
4200 Doniphan Dr. El Paso, TX 79922 (915) 584-0563 Website
Tropical Trail Region
Fort McIntosh Historic District
West End Washington Street at Laredo Community College Laredo, TX 78040 (956) 721-5140 Website