14 Ornamental Grasses
September 30, 2020
16 Container Gardening, Part 2: Plants
October 30, 2020
O MG OMG OMG OMG OMG! The San Antonio Botanical Garden is BY FAR one of the most amazing botanical gardens I have visited! The variety of gardens, their spectacular designs, the stunning garden art, the hardscape, the building structures, the greenhouses and on and on.
You can get married there, take Yoga or Tai Chi classes, have birthday parties, a picnic, go to Storytime for kids—it is all open to the public for SABG or private events.
No Aunt Patti this trip, but another Girls Getaway with my BFF, Evelyn! My thank-you treat for her because she designed and custom-made my daughter Misha's wedding dress.
Evelyn and Misha, 2019
That dress cost Evelyn a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears, and she needed a getaway. Of course I had to go with her!
I planned the entire trip down to our daily itinerary which with Evelyn always involves drinking, eating and non-nursery shopping.
Holy moly, SA is freakin' hot and humid in October. First day, we hung out at the River Walk, which was 100 degrees with 90% humidity—pretty much like walking in a sauna along with hundreds of other people’s sweat. Within minutes I looked like a wet poodle, and here’s Evelyn—not a trickle on her. That, my friends, is how we roll! She and I are like night and day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our BFF-ness has worked for over 35 years.
Second day, we walked around downtown SA in 56 degrees with wind and rain—which is right up my alley but not Evelyn's. We got soaked and still had fun.
Third day was our visit to the SA Botanical Gardens. But I have to say, the landscapes in the neighborhood you drive through to get there obviously take NO inspiration from the SABG! Maybe the homeowners feel like "why should I grunt all day over my yard when I can just pop over to the SABG and enjoy?" My advice when you go (and you should absolutely go) is just close your eyes until you get there.
And when you do get there, OPEN YOUR EYES! Because along every walkway, in every plant display, open space and tiny corner, you'll see perfection. It's a master class in garden design and functionality.
For example, the vegetable garden, which is the first garden on the right after entering the SABG.
Look how neat and tidy those veggie beds are. After my own heart! And most cool of all, they have Netafim inline drip-tubing irrigation system installed. Again after my own heart!
FRONT to BACK: Lantana camara ‘Miss Huff’, Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage), Opuntia (Prickly Pear).
In most cases my motto for garden design is "less is more" (except when nursery shopping!). Start with less and then you can build from there if needed. I love repetition, and using only 3 species (as above) is not only soothing to the eye but it can be less expensive and create the perfect back drop for garden art. I’m thinking a bug (keep scrolling).
I’m picky about fencing and I would love to have had this fence at my own place. But then my husband and I would have to discuss it for another 25 years. This fence was treated to rust out which is so clever and less invasive to the eye.
At the time of our visit, SABG was featuring David Roger’s Big Bug, a garden art exhibit that has been traveling around the US for 25 years, educating people about conservation and preservation.
The bugs are made out of natural materials. At a distance, they look like wrought iron but they are not. All wood.
ANT (25 feet) made of bent willow.
DADDY LONG LEGS made of Black Walnut and Red Cedar.
ASSASSIN BUG (7 feet) made of Black Walnut and Red Cedar.
DAMSELFLY (10 feet) made of Red Cedar, Willow and Black Locust.
We also loved coming across 6 garden ladies scattered here and there throughout the SABG.
Like Woodland Woman here, other ladies were also dressed up for the Fall/Halloween season. When I have my She-Shed (update: now currently under construction!!!), I am sure I can make my own garden lady.
As for me, I could easily have spent the entire day at the SABG and have more to share here, but this trip was about Evelyn, not me.
We had to make our way to Burnee, Texas, for a final day of boutique shopping—which was fantastic. That night around 2am, the hotel fire alarm went off, everyone evacuated, and we spent 2 hours out on the street, freezing! (Yes, I was actually cold.)
But that's "Adventures With Evelyn." With who else can I enjoy a world-class botanical garden and then easily spend 2 hours in a shoe shop!?
It’s how we roll.
Photos courtesy Sheri Lynn Burke. All rights reserved.
