The Formal & Display Gardens consist of specialized displays designed for inspiration or education. Enjoy the ever-changing Display Beds with their creative arrangements of plant textures, forms, and colors. Admire the unique Kumamoto En garden, a gift from our Sister City of Kumamoto, Japan, with its finely crafted structures and many symbolic features. Experience the beauty of the Sacred Garden, Shade Garden, Gertie’s Garden and other garden displays. The Daniel Sullivan Carriage House, designed by Alfred Giles, was constructed in 1896.

The Hill Country display includes plants found throughout this rugged alkaline soil region such as live oak, juniper (mountain cedar), mountain laurel, and Uvalde maple. The East Texas Pineywoods includes acidic soil-loving trees such as pine, magnolia, sweetgum, sassafras, and dogwood. The Southwest Texas area showcases dryland trees and shrubs such as mesquite, huisache, cenizo, blackbrush, ebony, and sotol.

The futuristic Lucile Halsell Conservatory opened in 1988 and features plants from around the world. The unique glass pyramids include the Exhibit Room, Desert Pavilion, Tropical Forest Room, Palm House, Fern Grotto and Alpine Room.

The Garden also serves as a Plant Rescue Center in conjunction with the US Fish and Wildlife Department. In this role, the Garden provides refuge to internationally recognized endangered plant species that have been confiscated at the US border stations.

The Garden pursues a broad-based program of basic and developmental research to benefit regional consumers and nurseries. The primary objective is to develop new and superior nursery plants that perform well in the local environment.