GRAPEVINE – My most recent adventure happened in Grapevine, near Dallas, and included a daylong journey through different things that the town of Grapevine has to offer.
I was initially searching for things that people don’t hear about often so I could write about them and shine some light on the smaller places to visit among the gigantic area that is Dallas-Fort Worth, which includes Grapevine somewhere in between.
I stopped at a few places and pretty much stumbled onto the Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park while driving around and looking for another destination.
I’m really happy I stopped to check it out, because it ended up being completely worth it.
I’m usually on the lookout for adventurous things to do around Texas, with a museum highlighted here and there, but the few times I’ve traveled to gardens or arboretums for the Traveling Soldier story, I’ve always been pleased with the outcome.
Giant gardens meant for people to come and visit maybe wouldn’t seem like the thing to put in a place as hot as Texas, especially Central Texas, but this state makes a point to really highlight the foliage that thrives in hot environments, and I’ve discovered that there are a lot of colorful flowers that can stand the heat – it isn’t just cacti and yucca plants that make up a Texas garden in the summer.
The Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park was built in phases that started with a plan in 1999.
After a Grapevine city councilmember and his wife visited a botanical garden in Wichita, Kansas, the couple thought the concept of a botanical garden would be a great addition to the city of Grapevine.
They found the centralized location that is Heritage Park and began the first phase of the garden, which included the great lawn, a fountain, ponds and natural beauty.
The master plan for the gardens was actually designed by the same landscape architect who designed the gigantic Fort Worth Botanical Garden, and by July of 2000 phase one was complete.
Phase two started immediately with the garden court, pond, gazebo, stage, trails and landscaping, beginning with the installation of the drainage system. The remaining construction was completed in April 2001, and the grand opening ceremony for the gardens was held Aug. 23, 2001.
Since the grand opening, things have been added to the gardens, such as the butterfly garden and waterfalls, which have since been developed.
The botanical garden in Grapevine is all outdoors, but really nice to visit even during hot days because it is mostly shaded by giant oak trees, creating a canopy over most of the land.
There are bridges leading over streams in the gardens, too.
While I was there, a couple was taking professional engagement photos throughout the gardens, and there was also a family taking photos together.
I learned that photographers around Grapevine choose the botanical gardens often for their photo shoots, for almost any occasion, in any season.
The flowers change in the gardens seasonally, so there is always something in-bloom to visit.
My favorite part of the gardens was, of course, the butterfly garden. I actually learned more about butterflies at the Grapevine gardens than I have at any other gardens I’ve visited.
The staff at the Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park makes it clear that if someone wants to raise butterflies in their garden, they must be willing to work with nature and not rely on certain pesticides. Also, people with a butterfly garden should not expect to have a perfect garden, because the butterfly larvae will feed on the plants, leaving them “less-than-attractive,” staff members told visitors.
I’ve never been very good at growing anything besides the lima bean experiment everyone has to go through in first grade, but I think I could handle a butterfly garden after listening to how easy it can be, with just a little research.
Apparently all I’d have to do is grow one of the many plants that butterflies feed on (which are all easy to grow, according to staff), attract butterflies with hanging nectar stations, and voila – butterflies everywhere.
And I wouldn’t have to worry too much about keeping the plants looking nice, because the caterpillars leave them somewhat ravaged anyway as they grow and feed.
I could blame my bad-looking plants on the butterflies. Perfect.
But, while the plants in the butterfly garden might have been a little sketchy-looking, it’s hardly noticable with all the colorful butterflies fluttering around. I’d say that’s a great trade of beauty.
The butterfly garden plants were absolutely the only “ravaged” plants in the entire garden, though. Designated in its own spot, the butterfly garden is filled with butterfly-specific lures to keep them from laying eggs in other areas of the garden, so the rest of the grounds are lush.
Another area of the gardens was dedicated to perennial plants – a plants that lives for more than two years.
I learned that some perennials die into the ground during the winter, while others keep their leaves all winter long. Also, perinnials don’t live forever, and aren’t invincible as some may not even survive winter in certain areas.
In contrast with perinnials, annual plants and flowers complete their lifecycles in one season – they go from seed to seed during their lifecycles. Sunflowers and corn are good examples of annual plants.
The Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park have so much information about plants that one walkthrough of the grounds is a lesson in growing just about anything.
Staff members are happy to talk to visitors, and there are mailboxes set up around the grounds with detailed info sheets on everything from butterflies to compost.
Events can also be held in the gardens; the grounds include amphitheater seating and a performance stage.
Altogether, the Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park include a loop walk, benches all over for seating, annual color planting areas, spacious green lawns, a garden court, a performance stage, amphitheater seating, a central fountain, a giant gazebo, perennial beds, more than 250 different plant species, ponds and waterfalls, streams, koi fish, huge trees providing nice canopy shading and coverage, a playground for kids, picnic tables spread throughout and an 8,500-gallon water garden.
The koi pond has a lot of fish in it, and they are surprisingly big. Staff members encourage visitors to feed the koi with the food provided at the gardens, but not with anything brought in from outside the gardens.
The Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park are open 365 days a year, from dawn to dusk, and admission is free to the public.
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