Learn More
When visiting the Gardens, you’ll see interpretive signs along the path regarding the plants and features around you. For some of the gardens and features, we wanted to share more information than we could fit on a sign! That information is included for you here.
Texas Master Gardeners Earth-Kind® Garden
This garden was given by the Texas Master Gardeners. To learn more about the organization, or to become a Texas Master Gardener, visit https://mastergardener.tamu.edu.
Earth-Kind® gardens focus on environmental stewardship through innovations such as water-wise irrigation, appropriate fertilizer and pesticide usage, and the use of Earth-Kind® plants such as the roses featured in our garden. To learn more about the philosophy around the design of this ever-changing garden, visit https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/.
Landmark Nurseries Tree Park
We currently have two dozen trees in the Tree Park that are busy growing into a rich canopy to create a relaxing, shaded plot. Looking to identify a particular species in the Tree Park? Below is a list of all the trees we are growing, as donated by Landmark Nurseries.
- Bur Oak / Quercus macrocarpa: A deciduous* tree that can exceed 100 feet in height and width. This species has the largest acorns of all the native oaks.
- Chinkapin Oak / Quercus muehlenbergii: A deciduous tree with leaves up to eight inches long with wavy margins. The Latin species name honors Henry Ernst Muehlenberg (1753–1815), a Pennsylvania botanist.
- Monterey Oak / Quercus polymorpha: This tree grows native between Val Verde County in west Texas and south through Mexico to Guatemala. Resistant to oak wilt, this is a hardy evergreen** oak tree.
- Shumard Red Oak / Quercus shumardii: A pyramidal tree, growing 50–90 feet, with leaves that typically turn scarlet in the fall. Named for Benjamin Franklin Shumard / 1820–1869, state geologist of Texas.
- Cathedral Live Oak / Quercus virginiana: This species grows upright with a dominant trunk, which is ideal for street tree planting.
- Cedar Elm / Ulmus crassifolia: An oval-rounded tree growing 50–70 feet. The common name refers to the leaves, whose texture resembles the scale-like leaves of a cedar. The Latin species name means “thick leaf.”
*Deciduous – The tree sheds its leaves each year.
**Evergreen – The tree keeps green leaves all year.
The Texas A&M Forest Service provides more information on how to identify and plant Texas trees.
Mary Helyn’s Rain Garden
Rain gardens turn rain collection methods and drought preparation into a sensible and eye-catching creation. If you want to learn how to design a rain garden, visit https://rainwaterharvesting.tamu.edu/raingardens/ on the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension page.
Below are some of the plants most often used in rain gardens.
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- American Beautyberry / Callicarpa americana
- Berkeley Sedge / Carex divulsa
- Black-Eyed Susan / Rudbeckia hirta
- Cardinal Flower / Lobelia cardinalis
- Crinum Lily / Crinum augustum
- Daylily / Hemerocallis ‘Lemon’
- Giant Turk’s Cap / Malvaviscus arboreus / ‘Big Mama’
- King Tut Umbrella Sedge / Cyperus articulates / ‘King Tut’
- Lousiana Iris / Iris giganticaerulea / ‘Sinfonietta’
- Purple Coneflower / Echinacea purpurea
- Russelia / Russelia equisetum
- Seashore Mallow / Kosteletzkya virginica
- Spider Lily / Hymenocallis liriosme / ‘Tropical Giant’
- Spiderwort / Tradescantia x andersoniana
- Switch Grass / Panicum virgatum
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Stephens Family Texas Superstar® Garden
Texas Superstar® flowers, plants, and trees are those that have been certified as the toughest, most reliable, and most beautiful plants to grow in Texas. Below, you will find a basic list of some Texas Superstar® plants. For a full list, visit texassuperstar.com.
Here is a list of the perennial Texas Superstar® plants in our garden.
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- Cape Plumbago / Plumbago auriculata
- Pride of Barbados / Caesalpinia pulcherrima
- Golden Dewdrops / Duranta erecta
- Yellow Bells / Tecoma stans / ‘Gold Star’
- Thryalis / Galphimia glauca
- Fire Bush /Hamelia patens
- Peppermint Flair Hardy Hibiscus / Hibiscus x ‘Peppermint Flair’
- Lynn’s Legacy Cenizo / Leucophyllum langmaniae / ‘Lynn’s Legacy’
- Purple Trailing Lantana / Lantana montevidensis / ‘Purple’
- Silver Mound Lantana / Lantana camara / ‘Silver Mound’
- Trailing Lantana / Lantana montevidensis / ‘White’
- Turk’s Cap / Malvaviscus drummondii
- White Lightning Turks Cap / Malvaviscus arboreus drummondii / ‘White Lightning’
- Pam Puryear Turk’s Cap / Malvaviscus drummondii / ‘Pam Puryear’
- Variegated Tapioca / Manihot esculenta / ‘Variegata’
- Butterfly Deep Pink / Pentas lanceolata / ‘Butterfly Deep Pink’
- Black Stockings Napier Grass / Pennisetum x ‘Black Stockings’
- John Fanick Phlox / Phlox paniculata / ‘John Fanick’
- Princess Caroline Napier Grass / Pennisetum purpureum / ‘Princess Caroline’
- Phlox ‘Victoria’ / Phlox paniculata / ‘Victoria’
- White Cape Plumbago / Plumbago auriculata / ‘White’
- Knock Out Shrub Rose / Rosa x / ‘Radrazz’
- Belinda’s Dream Rose / Rosa x ‘Belinda’s Dream’
- Red Knockout Rose / Rosa x ‘Red Double Knockout’
- Grandma’s Yellow Rose / Rosa x ‘Nacogdoches’
- Mystic Spires Mexican Bush Sage / Salvia leucantha / ‘Mystic Spires’
- Mystic Spires Blue Sage / Salvia x ‘Mystic Spires Blue’
- Gregg’s Salvia / Salvia / ‘Greggii’
- Yellow Butterfly Vine / Mascagnia macroptera
- Little Ruby / Alternanthera brasiliana / ‘Little Ruby’
- Cora Red Periwinkle / Vinca catharanthus roseus
- Blue Bells / Ruellia brittoniana / ‘White Dwarf’
- Blue Princess Verbena / Verbena x hybrida / ‘Blue Princess’