Category: Newsletter

Garden sign that reads "As I work on the garden, the garden works on me"

Learn

Get Your Hands Dirty in a Garden to Boost Your Mental Health

One of the best things about working outside in a garden is the visibility of the results. You can see your hard work pay off as flowers bloom. But there’s another benefit, one that is just as real but less obvious to the eye: Gardening supports your mental health. Experts from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will teach a workshop on wellness in the garden this month that will share tips on reducing stress and anxiety through gardening.

BRIT Staff May 6, 2022

Blue plumbago - pale blue flowers against a dark green background of leaves

Garden

Plants that Take the Heat and Fill Your Summer Garden with Color

One of the major goals of gardening in Texas is finding colorful, high-performing plants that add drama to our summer landscapes and hold up to Texas heat. “Fortunately, there are many to choose from, including both perennials and annuals and both native and adapted plants,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston. “In fact, you might find you have more options that you realized.”

BRIT Staff May 4, 2022

Floral illustration from 1829 of stemless evening primrose

Newsletter

What Is This Thing? Discovering Stemless Evening Primrose.

It’s one thing to identify a flower when it’s in bloom. Petals, stamens and other features provide all sorts of information to botanists to narrow down the plant’s name and history. Starting with a seed pod is a different matter – especially when the pod is hard, dried, and an indistinct brown. When friends Carol and Cynthia both found particularly tough, dried pods that superficially resemble pine cones, they were baffled. But it takes more than a dried-up pod to baffle the botanists at the BRIT Herbarium. They were able to let Cynthia and Carol know that they had found the dried fruits of Oenothera triloba, or stemless evening primrose.

BRIT Staff May 4, 2022

Family enjoying picnic near Big Bugs ant

Engage

This Time, the Ants Invite You to the Picnic

Usually, ants at a picnic are unwelcome, but what if they’re the main attraction? The Botanic Garden is at the height of its early summer beauty, and we invite you to celebrate on the grounds with a picnic – perhaps near the giant, whimsical ants that are part of the David Rogers’ Big Bugs exhibition. “Now is a great time to dine al fresco at the Garden,” says CEO and President Patrick Newman. “Explore our landscape as late spring and summer blooms reach their peak, and visit sculptor David Rogers’ giant insects before the exhibition closes in June.”

BRIT Staff May 4, 2022

A hand pours tea from a Japanese teapot into small bowls

Engage

Restored Tea House Welcomes Guests to Experience the Way of Tea

Guests to the Spring Japanese Festival will have an opportunity to view the Japanese Garden’s Tea House, now open after a comprehensive restoration. Japanese garden expert John Powell drew on the Urasenke tradition, a centuries-old school of tea that emphasizes harmony, respect, purity and tranquility, to guide the restoration. “The Way of Tea is much more than a traditional way of serving guests a drink,” says Powell. “It is a rich tradition of hospitality that invites hosts and guests to respect one another and the world around them.”

BRIT Staff April 11, 2022

Learn

Stretch Your Body and Relax Your Mind with Yoga in the Garden

Exercise can sometimes feel like a chore. You know it’s good for you, and you’re always glad you’ve done it, but it can seem like yet another obligation. But what if exercising wasn’t a burden but rather a treat? That’s what yoga in the Garden offers, says yoga instructor Edwina Taylor. “The Garden is so peaceful and invigorating. You feel the breeze and the warmth of the sun. And it’s so relaxing to be outside moving and breathing.”

BRIT Staff April 7, 2022

Purple flowers cover the branch of a redbud tree

Garden

Look to Native Plants for a Drought-Tolerant, Ecosystem-Friendly Garden

As FWBG | BRIT celebrates National Native Plant Month this April, we invite you to bring more Texas natives into your garden. “Gardening with native plants is an easy way to support local wildlife, cut water consumption and reduce your reliance on pesticides,” says Sr. Horticulturist Steve Huddleston. “And I think you’ll find the results can be beautiful.”

BRIT Staff April 6, 2022

Newsletter

Help Your Young Scientists Learn and Grow at S.E.E.D Camps

The days are getting longer, the temperature is getting warmer, and summer is right around the corner. Give your kids the gift of an outdoor adventure by enrolling them in our S.E.E.D. (Summer Exploration, Engagement and Discovery) camps.

BRIT Staff April 6, 2022

Field of deep blue bluebonnets against a green field

Newsletter

Protect Native Plants to Protect the Planet

April is National Native Plant month and a great opportunity to talk about the importance of native plants to the health of our planet. Native plants help preserve local wildlife, reduce water use and protect and restore soil, but these plants are threatened by invasive species, habitat loss and water quality issues. What is FWBG | BRIT doing to protect these plants? And how can you help?

BRIT Staff April 6, 2022

Learn

Experience Food in a New Way While Foraging Texas

Today we have a pretty clear idea where our food comes from: the grocery store. Of course, we know that food is actually grown and raised on farms, but most Americans today have spent little to no time at a farm or ranch. True, some keep a garden, raise backyard chickens or hunt, but for the majority of us, food comes from the store and is wrapped in plastic. Author Eric Knight would like to change that. He encourages Texans to get outside and find their food by foraging for the edible plants. Knight will introduce foraging with a book talk and signing on March 26 at the Garden.

BRIT Staff March 4, 2022

Category: Newsletter

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