San Antonio Botanical Garden: Texas Ecosystems and Beyond
Connecting with the plant world and learning about Texan ecosystems
at the San Antonio Botanical Garden
I like to visit botanical gardens when I travel, especially if the gardens provide information on the local plants and ecosystems. So, when in San Antonio, I headed to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.
The mission of the San Antonio Botanical Garden is to “inspire people to connect with plants and understand the importance of plants in our lives.” In meeting that mission, the Garden focuses on more than just Texan plant-life. The Texas Trail portion of the Garden provides a look at three different Texan ecosystems.
In addition to the Texas Trail, the Garden includes a rose garden, a sacred garden, a water saver garden, a conservatory, a Japanese Garden, an orangerie, a fern grotto, a desert pavilion, a palm and cycad pavilion, cactus and succulents garden, a formal garden, a sensory garden, a children’s vegetable garden and a nature play area. After seeing the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden near the zoo, the Botanical Garden’s Japanese Garden was a bit of a disappointment, but I enjoyed the other exhibits.
My favourite part of the Garden was the 11-acre Texas Native Trail containing more than 250 plant species representing three different ecosystems. Walking the trails in this part of the Garden felt like walking in native landscape far away from the city around us.
In the south Texas region you’ll find dryland trees and thorny brush such as torchwood, Mexican olive, mesquite, Texas ebony and huisaasche.
In the East Texas Pineywood portion of the Texas Trail you’ll find pines, sweetgum, sassafras and other acidic soil-loving woodland species.
The Friedrich Schumacher family originally built this home in 1849 in Fredericksburg, Texas. The construction technique is called fachwerk or timber framing. It utilizes post oak beams and a mixture of clay, grass and woven willow branches for filler support.
The Hill Country portion of the Texas Trail features live oaks, juniper, Texas mountain laurel, Eve’s necklace, Blanco crabapple, Possum Haw, Uvalde maples and other limestone tolerant plants.
The sound of birds singing and chirping accompanied my walk throughout all three trails. I loved catching glimpses of the bright red northern cardinal.
The state flower of Texas blooms in spring. I saw it outside the Botanical Gardens as well, growing in fields and ditches alongside roads.
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This is one of the prettiest that I have seen. Although I have never been to the San Antonio Botanical Garden, these photos have inspired me to visit when I go back to San Antonio. I love those bluebonnets!
This was the first time I’d visited Texas in spring and the bluebonnets were a delight. Beautiful to see them in the fields and ditches.
We agree with you – that Texas Trail walk looks really enticing. We love wandering through botanical gardens on our travels too. One of the wildest and least manicured is the Vallarta Botanical Gardens in Puerto Vallarta with short hiking trails through natural tropical forest (past tangled vanilla vines) to a river where you can swim. In Kauai, we saw unique outdoor rooms with walls of plants at the Allerton and McBryde – see our post: http://www.sandinmysuitcase.com/botanical-kauai-the-allerton-and-mcbryde-gardens/. And then here in our beautiful home city of Vancouver, we have the VanDusen Botanical Garden and all its gorgeous rhodos blooming in spring! Here’s our post on that garden: http://www.sandinmysuitcase.com/vancouver-vandusen-botanical-garden-in-spring/
Janice & George, I’ve not visited the gardens in Puerto Vallarta or Kauai, but I do like VanDusen Botanical Gardens. And I love all the rhododendrons – in the Gardens and throughout Vancouver. There are a couple of varieties that we can grown on the Prairies, but we don’t get the brilliant pink and blue colours I see in Vancouver.
I would never have thought of botanical gardens in the same breathe as Texas. When you get a chance visit the Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The gardens are beautiful
Arleen, thanks for the mention of Longwood Gardens. I believe I’ve heard of it from others as well and I will keep in mind for when I get to Pennsylvania.
Hi Donna,
So dang pretty! And those bluebonnets in a field — like heaven. I have never been, but I could surely spend an entire day in the formal gardens and on the Texas walk.
Thanks for taking us there,
Josie
Josie, I was so glad I was there in spring time when the bluebonnets were blooming. Delightful.
Donna — such beautiful photographs. Thanks for sharing your visit with us. I was in San Antonio end of March for a wedding but had no time for anything else — the gardens or the River walk. Next time. I agree with Arleen, that Longwood Gardens are also wonderful. I’ve been there in the springtime.
Thanks Jeannette. And I’m glad to hear another recommendations for Longwood Gardens – have it on my list now.