Houston Botanic Garden

Collaboration was the name of the game at -- and away from -- the Garden this week. Our horticulture staff offered up recently removed banana leaves and sugar cane to help feed elephants at the Houston Zoo, and one of our horticulturists had the opportunity to speak on carnivorous plants for the audience at the Theatre Under The Stars Spotlight event previewing the forthcoming local production of "Little Shop of Horrors." The nonprofit community in Houston is the best! We are honored to be a part of it.

The shortest distance between two points today turned out to be the one lined with helping hands. Our horticulture team needed to move a decent number of flats of marigolds a short distance from our horticulture yard to the adjacent greenhouse, so all hands on deck were called to help create a human conveyor belt, of sorts. Just a few minutes -- and some collegial in-house banter -- later, the job was finished. #manyhandsmakelightwork

We're thrilled to partner with some of our Houston-area greenspaces (and Hou-based lab QuantumPro, Inc.) this week on a soil carbon sampling campaign. The results of these measurements will help us better understand the important role of our Coastal Prairie systems in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. Many thanks to the great field team at EarthOptics for getting after it in this August heat! Memorial Park Conservancy Houston Botanic Garden Native Prairies Association of Texas EarthOptics QuantumPro, Inc.

The Garden is a great place for team-building. Our private events staff would be happy to help you plan a corporate / nonprofit staff retreat or event in one of our climate-controlled spaces.

When nature calls, members of the collegial botanic garden community answer. Last week, several members of the horticulture staff from the San Antonio Botanical Garden came to Houston to help our staff continue cleanup efforts in the wake of Hurricane Beryl. With their help, our staff accomplished in just two days several big projects that would have taken a week or more, otherwise. Thank you, San Antonio Botanical Garden for being such a great friend and helper!

From The Morton Arboretum Global Conservation Consortium for Oak (GCCO) enewsletter: As a part of Houston Botanic Garden’s ongoing commitment to oak conservation, they recently signed on to be Species Stewards for Quercus austrina and Quercus chapmanii, both native to Florida and of conservation concern. Given the similarity to Houston’s climate, they expect these oaks to perform well in Houston. Garden staff are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first germplasm of these species, hopefully sometime this fall. The Garden will also serve as a back-up for Quercus arkansana, native to Texas and other southeastern states. The Garden is currently growing Q. arkansana from a couple different populations from Louisiana and Mississippi that were received from Missouri Botanical Garden. The Garden plans to continue growing seedlings obtained from other institutions across the U.S.

Our friends at Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange are no strangers to dealing with storm impacts like we are facing in Houston after Beryl, so we were grateful to have Jennifer Buckner, Shangri La's director of horticulture, and Jacob Price, its grounds superintendent, on-site yesterday to share their experience with our horticulture and operations departments. In addition, we had the opportunity to exchange some plants with them, which will enhance the collections both here and in the Golden Triangle.

Get to know Jena Portanova, the Garden's plant records manager.

Hurricane Beryl dealt all of us a blow. But Houstonians power through and grow stronger than ever in the wake of challenges like this. As a valued member of our community of plant lovers, you have the unique opportunity to help turn this unfortunate situation into a real turning point in the life of the Garden. We humbly ask that you consider making a donation that will directly contribute to the restoration efforts needed to repair the damage inflicted upon the Garden by Hurricane Beryl. Whether you can spare a little or a lot, every dollar given makes a difference in helping us recover and thrive once again. Help us restore the Garden: https://lnkd.in/gJcktWmD Let's grow through this together!

Thank you for your investment in the well-being of our neighbors in southeast Houston!