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| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| The display beds change with the season. The mixture of flowers and these colorful rows of winter veggies is something anyone could adapt to their own landscape. |
There are several must-see landmarks in the booming Texas town of San Antonio. Every tourist tops their list with the Alamo and the Riverwalk, but I contend that the San Antonio Botanical Garden (and the SAS shoe factory) should be next in line for the top tourism destinations!
Whether you’re a garden enthusiast or not, this botanical wonder offers something for everyone, and it’s small enough to cover in 2-3 hours. (And if you plan your visit around mealtime, you can enjoy the delicacies served at the onsite Carriage House Bistro.) Lest I get carried away with food, I’ll get back to the gardens. There are four primary areas to enjoy: the Formal Gardens, the Lucile Halsell Conservatory, the Texas Native Trails and Watersaver Lane. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Megan Bame | | The Japanese Garden may be small, but every element holds deep meaning in context to the garden. |
Formal Gardens. Several display gardens greet visitors as they pass through the garden entry. The Sensory Garden boasts plants that appeal to the five senses year-round, and it’s designed for maximum accessibility. The Japanese Garden, Kumamoto En, was a gift from San Antonio’s sister city, Kumamoto, Japan. The traditional Japanese setting uses plants, water, rocks and other elements of nature as symbolic features to define this culturally unique garden space. Other display beds in the Formal Garden area change with the season. In March, for example, we were treated to beds with colorful, leafy vegetables interplanted with cheery flowers. While the cabbage had bolted and flowered (and was no longer an appetizing edible), it remained a garden accent. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Megan Bame | | The towering glass pyramids are an architectural marvel to enjoy before you even step inside this unique conservatory to take in the plant collections! |
Lucile Halsell Conservatory. This isn’t your average conservatory – it’s an architectural landmark! The glass pyramids have a futuristic look enhanced by contemporary garden sculpture in the courtyards between the five detached glasshouses. When we visited, there was an orchid exhibit, a desert pavilion, a tropical oasis, a fern grotto and in the tallest structure – towering over the entire garden – was the palm and cycad pavilion. Whatever your interest, the conservatory is guaranteed to offer a plant exhibit to excite you. We saw gorgeously mysterious orchid blooms, a banana tree in flower and interesting prickly cacti, and we enjoyed a lovely walk-beneath waterfall feature designed to keep the humidity high in the fern grotto.
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