Explore, Discover & Engage
2025 Annual Report
The Mission of The Fort Worth Botanic Garden
To explore the critically important world of plants, collaborate to discover the role they play in our cultural and natural environments, and engage people to conserve nature and improve the human experience.
A garden is never finished. It is always growing. In 2025, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden leaned fully into that truth – tending what is here, planning what is next, and trusting that the work we do today will flourish for generations to come.
This was a year of remarkable momentum. Guests arrived in record numbers, with nearly half a million visitors walking our paths, an 8.6% increase over 2024. Our membership grew to more than 10,400 households, a testament to the deep connection this community feels to this place. Across our special events, from Butterflies in the Garden to Christmas in the Garden, the Garden served as a gathering point for joy, discovery, and belonging.
Construction on the Baker Martin Family Garden continued throughout the year, with the Discovery Center reaching substantial completion and key features of The Wilds and Imagine That! sections taking visible shape. Every week, the vision of a two-acre “garden of yes” becomes more real and the March 2027 grand opening feels closer with each milestone reached.
In 2025, our researchers described five new species, published 24 peer-reviewed papers, and completed landmark digitization projects that make the work of conservation accessible to the world. Our educators reached nearly 14,000 students and educators through school programs and more than 21,000 learners across all programs – planting seeds of curiosity that will grow well beyond our walls.
We are grateful for our donors, members, volunteers, guests, and partners who make all of this possible. Because of you, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden continues to grow.
Baker Martin Family Garden
In 2025, early construction efforts focused on major buried utilities and significant earthwork, laying the foundation for everything to come. By year’s end, the Discovery Center had reached dry-in status, a major milestone, and is on track to earn LEED Platinum designation thanks to geothermal cooling and clerestory windows added through a generous donation. The character of the family garden began to emerge through the summer and fall. Decorative concrete cliffs forming The Wilds canyon, raised activity areas in Imagine That!, retaining walls around major features, bridges across the stream, concrete walks, and shade structures for Jammin Jupiter and Jimmie’s Farm all gave a clear and exciting sense of the future guest experience.
From left to right: donors and supporters Dana Porter, Brooke Lively, Laura Bird, Greg Bird, Louella Martin, Mayor Mattie Parker, William Brentlinger, Patrick Newman, and Richard Zavala celebrate the groundbreaking of the Baker Martin Family Garden. Some are joined by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, adding to the joy and anticipation for the future of the Family Garden.
Guest Experience:
Butterflies in the Garden ran from March 1 through April 30, welcoming 53,012 guests over two months and remaining one of the most beloved springtime experiences in the region. The Japanese Festival continued its long-standing tradition with spring and fall events – spring drew 14,188 attendees, while fall welcomed an additional 8,173 guests. Both events celebrated Japanese heritage through performances, ceremonies, art, and food.
“Love the garden! You have done so much great work to enhance the physical space and bring in new events.” – Garden Member
Horticulture
Throughout 2025, several major garden renovations and restoration projects enhanced both resilience and historic character across the campus. The Rose Ramp and Lower Rose Garden were redesigned with a more durable plant palette while preserving their formal layout. The Fuller Garden’s Blue Bed was refreshed to better reflect its original vision, and two Montezuma cypress trees replaced a damaged American elm. The Cactus Garden was transformed with new sandstone and limestone crevice beds planted with arid-adapted species from around the world. The inner Horseshoe Garden was replanted following soil aeration around the live oaks, completing a renewed design inspired by southern blue-and-white gardens. Restoration of the Rose Horseshoe Court also honored the garden’s original east-west axis.
Science and Conservation:
In 2025, the BRIT Herbarium wrapped up the Texas Oklahoma Regional Consortium of Herbaria (TORCH) Thematic Collection Networks project, a seven-year effort that resulted in the imaging of 1.2 million specimens and the complete label transcription of 400,000 specimens across herbaria in Texas and Oklahoma. The project stands as a landmark achievement in regional botanical digitization. The Texas Plant Conservation team completed a project funded by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) focused on databasing and mapping rare plants in Texas. These resources are now bolstering future seed collection efforts and expanding public access to information about rare plant conservation across the state.
Education
In 2025, the Learning and Engagement team deepened that connection through expanded programming, new initiatives, and a growing network of community partnerships. FWBG’s school programs served 12,876 students and 1,110 educators through field trips and early childhood campus outreach, PreK through 12th grade. Across all programs – school, homeschool, family, adult, camp, Nature Rx, educator professional development, outreach, and more – the Garden reached 21,265 learners in 2025, reflecting the breadth of our educational mission. In total, 529 programs were offered across all categories, including classes, field trips, camps, and outreach.
-
497,456
Guests who visited the garden
-
10,444
Member Households
-
13,986
Students and educators served
-
14,821
Plant specimens digitally processed
-
5
New species described
-
36,667
Service hours by volunteers
-
24
Peer-reviewed papers published
-
26
Educational camps
-
3
New books published by BRIT press
-
154,000
Bulbs planted
-
2,140
Events hosted at the garden
-
746
Active volunteers
