Travels With My Cat

Hi, I’m Hope, and I live in North Central Texas. This past spring, my hoomans and I went to a private garden near our small town. Clark Gardens was started many years ago in 1972 as the homeowners landscaped their own yard. In 1999, 143 acres were donated, and the landscaping continued until there were magnificent gardens covering the grounds. There are now fountains, ponds, pavilions, pathways and even a miniature train exhibit and a chapel. The plants and flowers are mostly Texas natives and some that are adaptable to our climate. It is sustainable gardening at its best. And we all know, in Texas, if plants can be heat and drought tolerant AND sustainable, then that really is remarkable.

My hoomans like to meander through the garden and see what is growing during the Spring and early Summer. They get ideas for their own yard. Clark Gardens is very popular for their irises. They have fields and fields of them. However, we were too early the day we went and later we only witnessed the final late blooms. Perhaps next year, we will time it just right. We did purchase a few bulbs from the Clarks (at the annual plant sale) to plant in our yard and will have to wait until next year to see their beauty in bloom.

We saw some pink azaleas in bloom next to a small lake (I believe there are irises behind them in the photo, though the irises weren’t in bloom then).

Here are three views of one of my favorite areas. It’s a water fall that comes off the top and spills off the ledge. There is a tunnel of wisteria that wraps around the path and hill. You can walk down the path, under the wisteria and sit behind the waterfall and look out onto the lake.

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The tulips were in bloom. Now mind you, Texas isn’t Holland and we sit much closer to the equator, so our temperatures are almost too warm for tulips in the Springtime. But sometimes, tulips can have a good blooming season if our temperatures don’t heat up too early.

We crossed a bridge lined with coral colored honeysuckle. It smelled so sweet. The bees were buzzing all over the bush.

As we walked up the path heading to the top of the hill where the waterfall spills off near the wisteria tunnel, we had to stop for a photo of me sitting by one of our favorite spring bloomers: Bridal Wreath. It is a bush that has limbs that grow in the shape of a fountain spray and it puts forth little white miniature bouquets that grow along the entire branch. When in full bloom, it can look like a fountain spray of itty bitty white flowers. It smells faintly sweet and the bees love it too.

On top of the hill is a little fountain with a bubbler and you can see the water that spills off the top, over the wisteria tunnel. And when you look the opposite way, you can see the chapel in the distance.

Over on the other side of the garden is an area where roses bloom and there is miniature train exhibit.

Finally, we meander our way back to the beginning (or end) and walk along the pools and more formal looking gardens.

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I’m very pleased that we have this treasure so near our hometown of Mineral Wells, Texas and my hoomans and I became members of the garden. We bought a special pass which allows us to visit the gardens any time and also helps in the care and maintenance of the grounds. I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure to Clark Gardens and seeing a small sampling of what it offers. If you have a garden near you, do you visit it? I’d love to know.