Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Houston, TX

Gate, Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens

After having visited Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Houston - or is it in Humble or Spring, Texas - once in mid-July, I've tried to imagine the hardships Thelma and Charles Mercer endured turning 14.5 acres of trees and brush into their garden paradise. Houston is miserably hot and humid that time of year. Who were these people who braved drought, floods, insects and Houston's climate to create such a place?

Like many of us, Thelma Mercer hardly knew one plant from another when they began, but her love of beautiful places and personal vision motivated her to learn. She became an accomplished, amateur horticulturist. Her husband, Charles, a retired communications engineer with the military, shared her vision and, of course, loved to please her.

After retiring, they decided to move to the Rio Grande Valley. Not wanting their former home and gardens to be bulldozed by real estate developers, they sold the property below market value to Harris County provided that the government establish it as a botanical garden and education facility.

Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Garden is divided by Aldine Westfield Road. The East Side includes botanic gardens and the visitor center while the West Side features walking trails through the arboretum. Cypress Creek forms the northern boundary.

Hopefully the following photographic images will entice you to visit Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

 

Blue Butterfly Clerodendrum (Rotheca myricoides)

Red Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Koi pond

Nile Lily (Agapanthus africanus)

Rock Garden

Prehistoric Garden

Botanical imprints in pavement

Renaissance Garden

Color Garden

Aloe cooperi

Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Garden is a few minutes from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

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