Day Trips

The Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens offer a unique combination of exotic and native plants in a tropical setting for the visitor to smell, touch, and admire. Among the gardens' many holdings is perhaps the largest orchid collection in Texas open to the public.

"We offer a unique combination of botanical gardens and nature preserve," says Mary Jane Crull, spokesperson for the gardens. Besides greenhouses and flower beds, the nature preserve includes coastal wetlands, mesquite thicket, and a prairie.

The cornerstone of the flowering exhibits is the Don Larkin Memorial Orchid Greenhouse. When the Corpus Christi resident passed way in 1995, he bequeathed his collection of 2,000 orchids to the Botanical Gardens. The collection has since grown more than 2,400 plants sprouting a rainbow of colorful blooms.

Built in 1996, the orchid greenhouse was the first formal exhibit at the nature park. "The first few years we were growing slowly," Crull says of the nonprofit gardens. But like a young plant, after the Botanical and Nature Institute of South Texas developed a strong set of roots in the community, the growth has been coming in leaps and bounds.

The unusual Exhibit House is part greenhouse and part open-air arboretum. Filled with an assortment of bromeliads, cycads, cacti, and other tropical plants, the space showcases the versatility of Texas' growing season.

Surrounding the greenhouses are more than 250 plumeria plants representing 75 varieties. Unique for a U.S. botanical garden, the tree-like plants are native to the tropics, and the flowers are used in Hawaii to make leis. If protected from temperatures below 40 degrees, the beautiful plants do quite well in Texas and bloom spring through fall.

No botanical showcase in Corpus Christi would be complete without an exhibit of hibiscus, the official flower of the city. Completed last year, the collection of 75 varieties of the trumpet-shaped flowers fill the shaded beds with a medley of colors.

One of the Botanical Gardens' newest additions is the Rose Garden. Completed this year, the rose bushes are already in bloom, Crull says. The dozen or so rows of bushes show off the diversity of the popular flowers that can be grown in Texas.

Not only do a variety of plants and flowers grow in Texas, but man-made art is an important part of coastal life. The Sensory Garden designed by sculptor Danny O'Dowdy mixes benches cut from large limestone blocks and covered in colorful tiles with the scents of herbs. The unusual artscape is an ongoing project designed for the physically challenged, but guaranteed to stimulate everyone's senses.

Because of the extreme differences of elevation of the 180-acre tract along Oso Creek on the western edge of Corpus Christi, the gardens offer a variety of ecosystems and habitats. The Bird and Butterfly Trail, through a mesquite forest with its observation tower overlooking Gator Lake, is listed on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail as a prime wildlife viewing area. The alligators in the small lake are mythical, but the tranquil waters attract a variety of shore birds.

The Oso Creek Loop Trail winds along the muddy creek bank that provides an excellent habitat for native birds and resting areas for migratory flocks. Although the northern edge of the world-famous King Ranch sits across the road from the Botanical Gardens, other sections of former farmland in the area are in danger of becoming subdivisions and shopping malls.

The city-owned land along the creek is part of a planned greenbelt that will help protect the fragile coastal watershed. The Botanical Gardens is working with state and federal water management projects to enhance the park's wetlands.

One trip to the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens is not going to be enough. Current and ongoing projects promise to add something new to every visit. Opening later this summer will be an Arid Garden full of cactus. On the drawing board are a Tropical Garden, Palm Garden, and tree demonstration garden full of native trees. The gardeners plan to add small "drop" gardens in the mesquite forest and extend the boardwalk farther into the wetlands.

The Botanical Gardens hopes to build a new visitor center and administrative offices to replace the current building that also houses a gift shop and gallery. Although the city rents the land at an affordable price, operation and expansion budgets come from members and visitors, Crull says. Eighty percent of the visitors are from out of town, and many are from out of state and foreign countries. "Where else can someone see more than 2,000 orchids in one place?" she asks.

And where else can someone bid on a rare orchid, purchase a plumeria starter plant, or find unique gardening supplies than at the Botanical Garden's Spring Garden Festival and Plant Sale? Celebrate Earth Day, April 22, at the gardens browsing through the rows of flowering exotics, green tropicals, and native favorites all at very affordable prices. There will also be seminars throughout the day, 9am-5pm.

This is a major fundraiser for the community gardens and a great way to add to your home garden. Many of the plants are propagated from the Botanical Gardens' own collection. If you miss this extraordinary plant sale, the gardens will hold a Gigantic Fall Plant Sale on October 21.

The Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens is about four and a half miles southwest of the Padre Island Freeway at 8545 S. Staples. Visitors are welcome daily, closed on Mondays, 9am-5pm. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for children. For more information, call 361/852-2100.

Coming up this weekend ...

HerbFest at the Fredericksburg Herb Farm celebrates spring with hundreds of herbs plus tips on their uses, entertainment, and gourmet foods, April 14-16. 830/997-8615 or http://www.fredericksburgherbfarm.com.

Cotton Gin Festival in Burton fires up one of the last old gins along with folk life demonstrations, crazy contests, rockin' bands, and country food, April 14-16. 979/289-3378.

Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown fills the town square with weekend activities. April 15-16. 800/436-8696.

Coming up ...

Live Horse Racing returns to Retama Park in Selma, April 21-July 4. 210/651-7000 or http://www.retamapark.com.

Road Construction anywhere in the U.S. that might delay a vacation is listed on the map-maker's Web site, http://www.randmcnally.com/ plan/road_construction.ehtml.