Zilker Rose Garden
This weekend I had to go up to Austin for a chiropractic conference. After my conference on Saturday, I decided that I would swing by Zilker Botanical Gardens http://www.zilkergarden.org/ since I hadn’t been there before. Even though it not a huge botanical garden, it was a very nice visit. I only had an hour or so to walk through the gardens, but it was very relaxing – and a welcome change from having to sit in a conference room for 8 hours. There were lots of people there, with many bridal and prom professional photographs being taken.
Gardens that they have include: a large rose garden, a Japanese garden, a dinosaur primeval looking garden (the Hartman Prehistoric Garden), a butterfly garden, a herb garden, a Texas native area, a large rose garden, and a vegetable garden with composting displays and examples. There are numerous focal points and vantage points looking out over various gardens. They also have several old cabins/structures that were quite interesting.
The Japanese garden is different than most I have been to (San Francisco Golden Gate Park, Ft. Worth Botanical Garden, Saratoga, San Jose, and San Antonio’s) which have traditional tea room settings. Since the Zilker Botanical Garden really lies on the side of a hill, their Japanese garden has several different levels to it. There are a series of ponds at different levels with a small waterfall. The bottom
Zilker Primeval Garden
pond has some very old large Koi in it.
The rose garden also was quite pleasing. It was a little more formal with the roses in formal raised beds, more open space, and several nice vantage points on both the upper part of the rose garden and the lower gazebo area. I think my favorite really was the primeval dinosaur garden. I felt like I was walking back in earth’s history and they have several dinosaur sculptures.
All in all it was a very pleasing experience and it is free during the week. On the weekends they ask for a $3.00 parking fee. They also have a gift shop – but it was closed by the time I got there.