Gardens in Houston

The Genoa Friendship Garden is a host to 14 unique gardens, an educational center, and also a Greenhouse facility. It is home to perennials, vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and water features. The garden also allows visitors to participate in a variety of events and programs like Open Garden Day and the Weekly Garden day, which are a public tour of the gardens and also allows the purchase of plants from the greenhouse facility. The main aim of the Genoa Friendship garden is to inspire and educate the visitors about horticulture for which there are lecture series that are conducted at the education center.

Attractions Nearby : Almeda Mall, Space Center Houston
Distance from Houston : 20 minutes’ drive from Houston.
Suggested Duration : 1.5-2 Hours

The Jane Gregory Garden is situated in Buffalo Bayou Park and is filled with prairie plants. The garden caters to a variety of plants and trees from the shrub roses to Mongolia and live oak. Not only the garden has a variety of plants, but the visitors can also enjoy the varied insect species found in this garden.

Suggested duration: 1-2 hours
Address: Allen Pkwy & Gillette St, Houston, TX 77019
Open Hours: 6.00 AM to 11.00 PM

It is a community garden in Houston, which aims to harvest fresh vegetables, fruits and also learn about the various gardening techniques. They offer a variety of community programs and also allow buying locally grown fruits and vegetables. Situated near the Texas Southern University the garden was an initiative by the students of the university itself, which started five years ago. The main agenda behind the community garden is to harvest and sell the organically grown produce of vegetables and fruits to people in and around Houston.

Distance from Houston: It is 10 minutes’ drive from downtown Houston
Attractions Nearby: surrounded by the Houston University, The Museum of Fine Arts, and Hermann Park
Suggested Duration: 1-2 Hours
Address: 3216 Blodgett St, Houston, TX 77004

Located in Memorial Park, the Houston Arboretum and Nature Centre is a non-profit arboretum which is spread across 155 acres of land. With natural trails of 8 km, there are various gardens encompassed in it, like the Sensory Garden, Hummingbird, and Butterfly Island and Wildlife Garden. The sensory garden in the Nature Centre is designed to appeal to the 3 senses smell, sight, and sound which is evident as the garden has highly fragrant plants, bees, and tropical sage plants.

Distance from Houston: 30 minutes drive
Suggested duration: 2-3 Hours
Address: 4501 Woodway Dr, Houston, TX 77024
Open Hours: Monday to Sunday, 7.00 AM to 6.30 PM
Admission Fee : No entry fee

Built-in 1992 by the Tokyo landscape architect Ken Nakajima, the Japanese Gardens truly reflects a traditional Japanese essence. With over 20 varieties of trees and 100 plus varieties of shrubs, visitors can enjoy the landscape, the water setting (stream in the garden), the rock formation made from pink granite, the teahouse and the three stone lanterns, which are the only sculptures used in the design of the garden.

Attractions Nearby : The Houston Zoo, Space Centre, etc.
Suggested Duration : 1.5-2 Hours
Address : 6000 Fannin St, Houston, TX 77030, United States

Named after the Mercer family who purchased the property as their home and gardens, the Mercer Botanic gardens have an arboretum and a variety of preserved native trees and plants like dogwoods, hawthorns, and palmettos and some exotic tree species like the camellias, ginkgo, camphor, etc.

Distance From Houston: 30 minutes drive
Attractions Nearby: Cypress Trails Ranch Equestrian Centre, National Museum of Funeral History.
Suggested hours: 2-3 hours.
Address: 22306 Aldine Westfield Rd, Humble, TX 77338
Open Hours: All days
Except for Thanksgiving.
8.00 AM to 7.30 PM

Jenkins Garden is a natural space that provides shade and a place to enjoy nature. Named in honor of Dr. Daniel Jenkins who funded the development of the Garden, it is an abode to the wildlife, insects, birds and also includes a water setting. The trees, shrubs, and the Native Texas grass in the garden provide nectar, berries, and seeds and also attract a lot of butterflies, caterpillars, and hummingbirds throughout the year. A place to relax for the general public and also provides shade as it has a varied range of flora. This pollinator garden is open to the public as a garden as well as a playground.

Attractions Nearby: Central city Industrial Park, Eastwood Park
Suggested Hours: 1-2 Hours
Address: Lockwoody, Houston, TX 77004
Open Hours: All days

Westbury Community Garden is a community garden in Houston that spreads across 7-acres of land. It is one of the largest and a successful community garden in the Houston area. The main agenda for the garden is to educate people about good nutrition, organically-grown produce of vegetables and fruits. With more than 60 organic garden plots, 3 orchards and a tree farm it also has a farming training program. The community garden also organizes various events and volunteer programmes making it a gathering place for the community visitors.

Distance from Houston: A 20 minutes’ drive from Houston
Attractions Nearby: The Community Garden is located near Butler Stadium.
Suggested Hours: 1-2 Hours
Address: 12581 Dunlap St, Houston, TX 77035
Open Hours: 8.30 AM to 12.30 PM

A massive property of 132 acres of land Houston Botanic Garden is a host of two main gardens; the Global Collection Garden and the Susan Garver Family Discovery Garden. 70 acres of land of the garden is on an island in Sims Bayu. The garden is divided into six different distinct zones: a global garden collection, a culinary garden that has edible and medicinal plants, a lagoon encircled with a boardwalk maze, a family center, coastal prairie, and water wetlands along with the islands.

Suggested duration: 2-3 Hours
Address: 1 Botanic Lane, Houston, TX 77017
Open Hours : 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM, Monday to Sunday
Except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

The Cloister Garden is a part of the St. Martin’s Church In Houston. Incorporating all the garden elements the designer included a fountain in the center, surrounded by benches and a collection of paintings that surrounds the lawn. There are also various floral and herbs that resemble the ancient cloister gardens. The design of the garden with its carvings creates a sense of ancient cloisters and for this reason, it is also a host of various religious events. Visitors can enjoy the calm ambiance of the garden.

Distance from Houston: It is a 10 minutes’ drive from Houston
Attractions Nearby: Located near Memorial Park.
Suggested duration: 1-2 Hours
Address: 5005 Riverway Dr, Houston, TX 77056
Open Hours: 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM

Located in Hermann Park the Family Garden is a garden designed for the organically grown produce of various vegetables and fruits in the Houston area. It harvests a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, berries, and citrus. The garden also invites volunteer groups; and is a safe space for children who are invited to participate in cultivating the beds of various fruits and herbs. The produce that is grown here organically is donated to the local pantries. The family Garden is a space for education for the visitors and a part of the McGovern Centennial Gardens in Hermann Park.

Distance from Houston: A 30 minutes’ drive from Houston.
Address: 1554, 1700 Hermann Dr, Houston, TX 77004
Open Hours: 9.00 AM to 7.00 PM,
Open all days except Thanksgiving and Christmas day.

Built-in 2014 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hermann Park, McGovern Centennial Gardens was converted from the Houston Garden Centre Site which previously stood there. The garden is spread across 15 acres of land and attracts a lot of visitors due to its custom-made gardens around a spacious lawn called the Centennial Green. Some of the gardens that are there are the Arid Garden, Rose Garden, Celebration Garden, Woodland Garden and the Family Garden.

Distance from Houston: : A 30 minutes’ drive from Houston
Attractions Nearby: : The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Hermann Park Conservancy and the Houston Metropolitan dance centre.
Suggested Duration: : 3-4 hours

Built-in 1971, and named after the owner John Fairey, Peckerwood Garden is located in Hempstead Texas and renamed the John Fairey Garden. This 40-acre garden is an epitome of diverse naturalistic settings and has more than three thousand rare and endangered plants from Mexico, Asia, and all over the USA.

Distance from Houston: One hour drive from Houston.
Suggested Duration: 1-hour
Address: 20559 Farm to Market 359, Hempstead, TX 77445
Open Hours: Monday to Sunday
9.00 AM to 5.00 PM

Located in Hermann Park and a section of the McGovern Centennial Gardens the Woodland Gardens is a perfect place for the bright blooms as the garden is filled with Azaleas, Camellias shade-loving ferns, and Native Texas Trees. It is a secret shade garden with a deck and a patio, and a large waterfall.

Suggested Hours: 1-2 hours
Address: 1554, 1428 Hermann Dr, Houston, TX 77004
Open Hours: 9.00 AM to 7.00 PM
Tuesday – open all-day

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, a former Mansion that belonged to the philanthropist Ima Hogg is encircled with a series of gardens and spreads across 14- acres of land. Three of the gardens are named after the statues of the goddesses Clio, Diana and Eutrupe displayed in the garden.

Suggested Duration : 2-3 Hours
Address : 6003 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77007
Open Hours : Tuesday to Sunday.
It is closed on Mondays.
Timings: 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM
Sunday: 1.00PM to 5.00 PM

Located at the heart of Houston’s Fifth Ward the garden offers a variety of vegetables and herbs that are organically grown. The vegetables and herbs are grown in a controlled environment using the eco-friendly architecture to maintain the ideal growing conditions. The main aim of the Cane River Garden is to restore and originate a sense of community in the fifth Ward with the help of a Garden. The community garden also provides various volunteer programmes for the people of Fifth ward, Houston.

Distance from Houston: A 7-minute drive from Downtown Houston
Attractions Nearby: Located near the Mercy catholic church
Suggested Duration: 1-2 Hours
Address: 4205 Lyons Ave, Houston, TX 77020
Open Hours : 8.00 AM to 5.00 PM