Posts Tagged ‘Fort Worth Botanic Garden’

Yesterday, we visited the botanic garden again, and because it was a certain kind of day — slightly rainy, towards the late afternoon — and because there were very few people in the gardens, we decided that we would visit the Japanese Garden, which is the crown jewel of the park.

We don’t go every time we visit the Botanic Garden, partly because it costs money — $3.50 per adult and $2.00 per child — to get in, but more because you have to have the right group of people and the right conditions to enjoy it. It’s not as fun to go to the Japanese Garden when it’s thronged with people. It’s also not fun if anyone in your group is tired, mentally or physically. You need all your senses alert to appreciate the experience.

Entering the garden through a high wooden fence and gatehouse, you look into a tree shaded valley, filled with fenced walkways, rocks, evergreens, ponds, and pagodas. You feel as if you’ve entered a mystical world of history or perfected forms. Under ideal conditions, such as were had on this visit, the garden is almost silent. You move from interest point to interest point, enjoying the water, the trees, the stones and the animals which include squirrels, blackbirds, and koi.

Feeding the koi is something kids appreciate the most. The koi, some of which are over 2 feet long, come to the surface of the ponds, opening and shutting their round mouths for food you buy (just 25 cents) from a dispenser. Children delight in throwing food into the throng of fish and watching them flop around in the water, struggling for a tiny bite. 

The Zen Garden asks you to expand your imagination and try to "reach" for the world of ideas. The viewer looks at the patterns in the sand, and imagines a river.

The Karesansui (I’ve always heard this called a Zen garden) is another important attraction. You walk up onto a wooden deck and make your way around the carefully raked white gravel in the garden, which is shaped to resemble a river. Depending on how long you are able to stay in contemplation, you may have more or less of a feeling of detachment from worldly cares, a kind of acceptance of the idea that all is not as it appears.

There’s plenty more to see (a map brochure offered by the gate lists 19 areas of interest). The entire visit takes about an hour, longer only if you like to sit and contemplate, which wouldn’t be the case if you were me, and had small children to watch.

Photocredits: Flickr Creative Commons, JoshBerglund19

Spring roses at Fort Worth Botanic Garden

We visited the botanic garden again this weekend. The spring blooms are just beginning to fade, so if you wanted to see them this year, I suggest you get over there this week.

We discovered a huge selection of snapdragons in the four seasons garden, which is across the parking lot from the rose garden terrace. Here tall stalks of yellow, red, orange and purple made for an impressive display. But, showing that I really am a child in my mind, all I could think of was showing the kids how to make the snapdragons snap.

It took a few experiments, but finally we came up with the following video:

We also enjoyed the rose garden, which is covered in blooms at this time of year, and the fountain at the bottom of the terrace, where, as always, we threw lots of pennies.

This is a press release from the City. Sounds pretty good, especially the part about herb gardening:

The Fort Worth Water Department’s next semi-annual Yard Smart Seminar is Saturday, March 21, at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Center’s Lecture Hall. The seminar is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required.

Doors open at 8:15 a.m., and the program begins at 8:45 a.m. The event concludes at 12:30 p.m. with a tour of the Water Conservation Garden.

The purpose of the Yard Smart Seminar is to relay environmentally friendly and water-saving gardening information that can lead to healthy, beautiful lawns and gardens.

Dotty Woodson, water resources specialist for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, will discuss Rain Water Harvesting. Growing Herbs & Vegetables is the subject of Tarrant County AgriLife Extension Agent Steve Chaney’s talk.

The third session, Ask the Expert, is a one-hour discussion between the public and a panel of four professionals on gardening and irrigation.

To learn more, call the Water Department at 817-392-4477.

I love the botanic garden, at any time of year when the weather is fair enough to be outside, and if it’s too cold or too hot you can always go to the conservatory. When we finished eating our sandwiches, my husband and sons were going to try to play catch with a baseball, and I went to go turtle watching. I wrote the following in my journal:

Turtles on a small island in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden

“I am sitting out in the botanic garden, enjoying the spring weather with a lot of other Fort Worthians. The focus we have is the turles of the pond at the bottom of the rose garden. Red Eared Sliders. they hiberate underwater in the winter but now, in spring, they rise to the surface to bask and fraternize. Everyone, turtles and garden visitors, seems is a good mood. Voices exclaim with delight at seeing a turtle dive into the water or at counting the 16 turtles sitting on a small island in the center of the pond, with three turtles swimming around, looking for an opening so they can climb up to sun themselves.

Now husband and sons come up. They’ve been busted, they say, by park security for throwing a baseball, which is not allowed. They watch the turtles for a while too, then we all go up to the fountain at the bottom of the rose garden terrace. I give the kids — and us adults — two pennies each to throw in for two wishes. I sigh. The year ahead looks promising, at this juncture, but that could be just a trick of the light, which today seems white and gold like the light of Italy, which sits well on the Italianate rose terrace, as we throw in the pennies and hope.” Thank you City of Fort Worth, for maintaining this beautiful garden, which I love.

Reflecting pool at the bottom of the rose garden cascade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What: The oldest public garden in Texas, Fort Worth Botanic Garden is 109 acres of beautifully cultivated plants and trees, with abundant fountains, creeks and ponds. Picnickers are welcome. 

When: Eight a.m. until dusk.

Where:  On west side of University Blvd. just north of the I-30. Take University offramp, and go north one block, or drive up from TCU by traveling north on University. Alternatively, drive south from “Six Points” (intersection of Camp Bowie, University, Bailey and 7^th Streets) in the Museum District.

Getting there by bike:  Take the Trinity Trails to just northeast of the University Boulevard Bridge, then cut through Trinity Park to the main entrance on University. You’ll have to wait for a few cars to pass to get across the street, but the crossing is not impossible. It is requested that cyclists walk bikes on garden pathways. 

Getting there by bus: Take Route 7 from downtown Fort Worth Transit Center (ITC) or up from Bluebonnet Circle and TCU. This bus runs every half hour on weekdays and Saturdays and also serves the museum district.  The “T” Route 7

History: The garden was constructed during the Depression, by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The original layout and extensive terraces, stairways and stonework was based on designs from the Villa Lante near Viterbo, north of Rome, Italy. Of particular note is the cascading fountain that forms the centerpiece of the original garden, which travels down a gentle hill covered with rose bushes. 

In the years since the 1930′s, the garden has been a site of many improvements and much development. Of these special attractions, the Japanese Garden and the Conservatory are the most well-known. 

Japanese Garden:  A mystical feeling seems to emanate from the sculpted bushes and carefully chosen rocks and boulders of the Japanese garden.  Winding paths take the visitor down a hill into a quiet valley where ponds are home to Japanese Koi. These fish are the stars of this garden, spotted and mottled in all colors of yellow, gold, black and grey. Children are enchanted to feed them, so bring quarters to put in the fish food dispensers. Also visit the large Zen meditation garden. Small children must be well watched;  deep water and many bridges are here. Additional entry fees, $3 adults, discount for children and seniors.

Conservatory:  Visit a jungle in the 10,000-square-foot conservatory. Open year round, the conservatory offers the feel of the tropics – warm air, moist ground, the sound of water – to the dessert-weary Texan. Nominal charge for entry.  

General Garden Restrictions: No team sports, please. Fee for formal photographers.

Web: Fort Worth Botanic Garden