Open by reservation;
masks optional.

Reserve Now

Open by reservation;
masks optional.

Reserve Now

Luminations

A strollable winter tradition lighting up our Texas Arboretum

Buy Tickets

Luminations

A strollable winter tradition lighting up our Texas Arboretum

Join Us

Welcome to the

BOTANIC GARDEN of TEXAS

A garden for everyone, open by reservation

Reserve Your Spot

Adventure Awaits

Explore Fortlandia

Adventure Awaits

Explore Fortlandia

EVENTS & CLASSES

Join us for one of our exciting classes, programs or events

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Luminations

Saturdays, Jan. 15 – 29, 2022

Pollinator Habitat garden

Series: Let's Care for Texas Plants!

Saturdays, Feb. 12 – 26, 2022

Fortlandia logo

Fortlandia

Oct. 2, 2021 – Jan. 30, 2022

Sprouts image

Story Time

Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 – 10:30 a.m.  

Thu 20

Story Time

January 20 @ 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Wed 26

Story Time

January 26 @ 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Thu 27

Story Time

January 27 @ 10:00 am - 10:30 am
Mon 31

Series: Yoga FIT

January 31 @ 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Feb 01

Series: Get FIT (SOLD OUT)

February 1 @ 7:30 am - 8:30 am

View More…

All Events

FIND A PLANT

Discover the Native Plants of North America


GARDEN VIEWS

An inside glimpse of the gardens from our Instagram feed

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star....

Jan 17

Open
“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” - Martin Luther King Jr., in a 1967 speech addressed to the students of Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia. 📷 Gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) at the Wildflower Center

We're open normal hours this holiday weekend. Explore Fortlandia during the day or get a ticket to one of our last ...

Jan 14

Open
We're open normal hours this holiday weekend. Explore Fortlandia during the day or get a ticket to one of our last Luminations nights of the season via link in bio. Trust us: there are few things more calming than strolling through our light-splashed Texas Arboretum with a cup of spiked hot chocolate! 📸 Critter Stack during Luminations, by @alitexas

Despite common misconception, ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is not parasitic. In fact, it gets all the nutrients and ...

Jan 12

Open
Despite common misconception, ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is not parasitic. In fact, it gets all the nutrients and water it needs from air! Learn more about this surprising plant and the research surrounding it via link in bio. Fun fact: Ball moss is part of the bromeliad family, which includes pineapples!

Pictured here is frostweed (Verbesina virginica), performing what some call its “magic trick.” When temperatures ...

Jan 7

Open
Pictured here is frostweed (Verbesina virginica), performing what some call its “magic trick.” When temperatures drop below freezing — as they did this morning in Austin — the plant pushes moisture out from its stem as ribbons of ice! Learn more about frostweed’s spellbinding ways via link in bio. 📸 Frostweed in the Family Garden by Amy Galloway

Despite its name, you won’t find coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) under the sea. In fact, this native shrub ...

Jan 5

Open
Despite its name, you won’t find coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) under the sea. In fact, this native shrub grows best in well-drained sand, loam or clay soil. Add it to your woodland garden for bright pinkish-purple berries in the winter and whitish-green flowers in spring and early summer. Bonus: Coralberry provides food, cover and nesting sites for songbirds and other wildlife. 📸 Lee Page

Need a vacation from your vacation? Strolling through our light-splashed Texas Arboretum while sipping hot chocolate ...

Jan 3

Open
Need a vacation from your vacation? Strolling through our light-splashed Texas Arboretum while sipping hot chocolate (spiked upon request) should do the trick. Luminations continues through Jan. 30. Get your tickets via link in bio. 📸 @alitexas

The Center is closed Friday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 1. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!

📸 ...

Dec 31

Open
The Center is closed Friday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 1. We look forward to seeing you in the new year! 📸 Heyder pincushion cactus (Mammillaria heyderi), glistening with rain water.

We anticipate enhanced events, expanded educational programs, and joyous fields of wildflowers in 2022. Help us make the...

Dec 29

Open
We anticipate enhanced events, expanded educational programs, and joyous fields of wildflowers in 2022. Help us make the new year a bright one by donating today. Gifts will be doubled by a matching fund for twice the impact — but only until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31! Donate now via link in bio.

Doesn’t the bark peeling off this Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) resemble discarded wrapping paper? Seems like an ...

Dec 27

Open
Doesn’t the bark peeling off this Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) resemble discarded wrapping paper? Seems like an appropriate post-holiday visual. Native to Texas and New Mexico, Texas madrone is known for that smooth, pinkish inner bark, but it also offers year-round foliage, bright coral-red berries (mature from late November through February), and cream-colored flowers in spring. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! 📸 Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) by Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller

The Wildflower Center is closed Friday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 25 for the holidays. We hope you’re enjoying a ...

Dec 24

Open
The Wildflower Center is closed Friday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 25 for the holidays. We hope you’re enjoying a relaxing break, but if not, there’s always caffeine … Did you know yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is the only North American native plant containing usable amounts of caffeine? Learn about yaupon tea and its history in Native American purification ceremonies, via link in bio. 📸 Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star....

Jan 17

Open
“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” - Martin Luther King Jr., in a 1967 speech addressed to the students of Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia. 📷 Gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) at the Wildflower Center

We're open normal hours this holiday weekend. Explore Fortlandia during the day or get a ticket to one of our last ...

Jan 14

Open
We're open normal hours this holiday weekend. Explore Fortlandia during the day or get a ticket to one of our last Luminations nights of the season via link in bio. Trust us: there are few things more calming than strolling through our light-splashed Texas Arboretum with a cup of spiked hot chocolate! 📸 Critter Stack during Luminations, by @alitexas

Despite common misconception, ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is not parasitic. In fact, it gets all the nutrients and ...

Jan 12

Open
Despite common misconception, ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is not parasitic. In fact, it gets all the nutrients and water it needs from air! Learn more about this surprising plant and the research surrounding it via link in bio. Fun fact: Ball moss is part of the bromeliad family, which includes pineapples!

Pictured here is frostweed (Verbesina virginica), performing what some call its “magic trick.” When temperatures ...

Jan 7

Open
Pictured here is frostweed (Verbesina virginica), performing what some call its “magic trick.” When temperatures drop below freezing — as they did this morning in Austin — the plant pushes moisture out from its stem as ribbons of ice! Learn more about frostweed’s spellbinding ways via link in bio. 📸 Frostweed in the Family Garden by Amy Galloway

Despite its name, you won’t find coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) under the sea. In fact, this native shrub ...

Jan 5

Open
Despite its name, you won’t find coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) under the sea. In fact, this native shrub grows best in well-drained sand, loam or clay soil. Add it to your woodland garden for bright pinkish-purple berries in the winter and whitish-green flowers in spring and early summer. Bonus: Coralberry provides food, cover and nesting sites for songbirds and other wildlife. 📸 Lee Page

Need a vacation from your vacation? Strolling through our light-splashed Texas Arboretum while sipping hot chocolate ...

Jan 3

Open
Need a vacation from your vacation? Strolling through our light-splashed Texas Arboretum while sipping hot chocolate (spiked upon request) should do the trick. Luminations continues through Jan. 30. Get your tickets via link in bio. 📸 @alitexas

The Center is closed Friday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 1. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!

📸 ...

Dec 31

Open
The Center is closed Friday, Dec. 31 and Saturday, Jan. 1. We look forward to seeing you in the new year! 📸 Heyder pincushion cactus (Mammillaria heyderi), glistening with rain water.

We anticipate enhanced events, expanded educational programs, and joyous fields of wildflowers in 2022. Help us make the...

Dec 29

Open
We anticipate enhanced events, expanded educational programs, and joyous fields of wildflowers in 2022. Help us make the new year a bright one by donating today. Gifts will be doubled by a matching fund for twice the impact — but only until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31! Donate now via link in bio.

Doesn’t the bark peeling off this Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) resemble discarded wrapping paper? Seems like an ...

Dec 27

Open
Doesn’t the bark peeling off this Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) resemble discarded wrapping paper? Seems like an appropriate post-holiday visual. Native to Texas and New Mexico, Texas madrone is known for that smooth, pinkish inner bark, but it also offers year-round foliage, bright coral-red berries (mature from late November through February), and cream-colored flowers in spring. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! 📸 Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis) by Campbell and Lynn Loughmiller

The Wildflower Center is closed Friday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 25 for the holidays. We hope you’re enjoying a ...

Dec 24

Open
The Wildflower Center is closed Friday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 25 for the holidays. We hope you’re enjoying a relaxing break, but if not, there’s always caffeine … Did you know yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is the only North American native plant containing usable amounts of caffeine? Learn about yaupon tea and its history in Native American purification ceremonies, via link in bio. 📸 Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

Help us spread the beauty!

More What's in Season

EXPLORE MORE

Expert advice, plant nerdery and inspiring stories

Snow-on-the-prairie and a paper wasp; because it's a UVIVF image, the centers of the flowers stand out in blue against a plant that looks purple, and clumps of pollen shine bright white.

A Different Light

Creative photography helps us see flowers with new eyes

Illustration of compound leaves and round yellow flowers goldenball lead tree (Leucaena retusa)

Reflections and Reclamation

On Black Botanists Week and the power of representation
Big white bluestem prickly poppy blooms above purple blooms of prairie verbena along a concrete path.

Grounded

Time travel via tallgrass prairie