August 9, 2025: Mario's Birthday Party
	May 1 - July 1, 2025: Our Extended Trip to Ecuador
	Return to the Index for 2025

Last night we celebrated Fred's birthday, and this morning we've decided to go over to the Arboretum for our first visit since late 2021. We've been so busy with our travel, especially to Ecuador, that we've not used our membership at all. At Mario's birthday gathering, Steve told us there were some new sculptures around the garden, and we looked forward to seeing those.

Getting to the Dallas Arboretum

This being August, it will be early for the Fall pumpkins, and so the sculptures will be the notable feature- other than the plants, of course. The Dallas garden has been named by numerous horticultural magazines and organizations as one of the top five or ten in the United States, and we are fortunate to live near it. We have known for many years how beautiful the Arboretum is at almost every time of the year.

The Dallas Arboretum is not too far from where I live on Inwood- I'd guess about six or seven miles as the crow flies (see the map opposite)- but you can't get there as the crow flies because White Rock Lake is in the way. So you can either go through town and wind your way around the south end of the lake or you can take Mockingbird over around the north side of the lake. When Fred and I go there from the house, the northern route is most direct. That's the route that we took today.

The Arboretum is, of course, well-past the timed-entry and masking requirements that were adopted during the pandemic and which lasted into 2022, that now visiting the Arboretum is back to what it used to be.

In this closer view, you can see the south end of White Rock Lake and you can pick out the bike trail that hugs the lake shore almost all the way around. We have not had our bikes out over at White Rock Lake for quite some time- mostly because Fred has taken his up to his house where he has more opportunity to use it during the week. At the south end is White Rock Lake Dam and spillway, which takes the overflow water and sends it under Garland Road to continue on down to the Trinity River.

The bike path used to cross the top of the dam, but for one reason or another, the bike path was rerouted some years ago, and now it goes through some parkland and playing fields south of the dam, across the spillway, up Garland Road for a ways, and then back north along the lake shore.

You can also see a closer view of the Arboretum in this picture, and can begin to pick out some of the pathways through the gardens.

Finally, in this close-up of the Arboretum itself, you can see most of the major features- including the parking area just off Garland Road, the new administrative buildings, the restaurant and gift shop (all right near the parking lot) and, off in the middle of the gardens, the DeGolyer house (the former residence of the family that donated the land for the Arboretum to the Arboretum Society).

You can also see the maze of pathways that criss-cross the gardens.

Because all the pandemic requirements are now discontinued, we will again be parking in the lot right by the Trammell Crow Entry Plaza at the south end of the gardens.

Today we are just going to wander around mostly following a big circle as was our practice before the pandemic. I won't try to mark our route on the aerial view below, but I will mark it to show where some of the major points of interest were.

Entering the Arboretum

We came down Garland Road to the Arboretum Entrance, parked, and walked a few feet north to the actual entrance plaza. There is a water feature there, right at the bottom of the steps from the parking area, where I took Fred's picture. Then we crossed the little driveway to the actual entrance to the Arboretum proper.

This is Fred by the fountain near the entrance.

This is the entrance to the Arboretum.

A Tasteful Place

Just to the west of the Trammel Crow Entry Pavilion is one of the Arboretum's newer garden complexes- A Tasteful Place.

This 3.5-acre, ornamental garden, pavilion, and kitchen is inspired by the movement toward growing and eating fresh, sustainable, locally-grown food. Visitors can wander among the beds of plants that include edibles and herbs. There is also a cafe and a pavilion that has daily tastings of seasonal produce from the garden beds (obviously supplemented on busy days with the same produce but brought in from elsewhere). There are also cooking demonstrations, and tastings of the results of the recipes used.

In the picture at left, taken just as we left the entry pavilion to enter "A Tasteful Place", you can see Fred, some of the beds in the garden, and one of the pavilions where cooking demos and tastings are often going on.

There are also excellent views of the Dallas skyline from this garden, you can see that skyline over Fred's shoulder.

We took a number of good pictures here in the "A Tasteful Place" garden, and some of them are below:

At left are a couple of pictures that Fred took of one of the vegetables that we could identify- eggplant.

While Fred was taking those, I took the picture below that looks from A Tasteful Place back to the Arboretum's entry plaza:

The eleven sculptures that are located throughout the gardens this summer are the work of Seward Johnson (1930-2020), and the exhibit is called "Celebrating the Familiar." Johnson is known for his life-size (well, most life-size), hyper-realistic bronze sculptures that capture everyday moments in extraordinary ways. We encountered the first of them here in A Tasteful Place:

Here are some more pictures we took in and around A Tasteful Garden:

And here is nice panoramic view of A Tasteful Place that I let my camera create:

"A Tasteful Place" as seen from the Entry Plaza. The trellis-covered overlook down to the Three Sisters Lagoon is towards the right.

The Three Sisters Lagoon

The Three Sisters Lagoon was constructed at the same time as A Tasteful Place, and lies just north of it.

The Three Sisters Overlook

Between A Tasteful Place and the Three Sisters Lagoon there is a trellis-covered seating area that is also an overlook down to the lagoon.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

When we were done walking through A Tasteful Place, I found myself at the north edge of the garden, just west of the overlook, looking down on the lagoon and its fountain. So I began a movie, which first pans around the lagoon down below and then takes you to the overlook at shows you the view from there.

You can use the player at right to watch this movie.

The trellis-covered patio provides a shaded spot to view A Tasteful Place, the lagoon, its meandering walkways, and downtown Dallas. This area can also be reserved for private events.

After I ended the movie, I took a couple of pictures of the lagoon area, and put them together into this panoramic view:

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

Leaving A Tasteful Place, we continued today's tour through the Arboretum by following the curving walkway that descends the hillside between A Tasteful Place and the Three Sisters Lagoon. On the first part of the walk, we were behind what a group of little kids and a couple of minders, and so the walk was slow going.

When we got to a switchback, we were able to pass them all and continue down into the area around the lagoon. This area has its own seating areas where one can relax to the sound of the fountain in the middle of the lagoon.

In the northeast corner of the lagoon area was another of Johnson's sculptures, this one of a young man photographing the scene:

Johnson's sculptures are incredibly detailed, and so I took a close-up picture of this particular sculpture.

The Jonsson Color Garden

Designed by Naud Burnett II, the 6.5-acre Margaret Elizabeth Jonsson Color Garden features large, sweeping beds of seasonal flowers and plants. It is a large, two-lobed garden just east of the Three Sisters Lagoon area.

Leaving the Three Sisters Lagoon, you pass through this restful seating area on your way to the Jonsson Color Garden.

From that seating area, a walkway heads east, crosses a bridge near the Fern Dell, and enters the Jonsson Color Garden from the west.

The walkway winds past the Water Wise display and then the expanse of the Jonsson Color Garden lawns opens up.

Entering the Jonsson Color Garden from Three Sisters Lagoon

The Color Garden is home to more than 2,000 varieties of azaleas, which bloom lavishly in the spring along with daffodils and tulips. Summer brings a vibrant display of bananas and tapioca plants, while autumn ushers in brightly colored chrysanthemums.

The Waterwise display, donated by Region IV of the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, provides a location for home gardeners to learn how to install and manage a low-water landscape. The Palmer Fern Dell serves as a shady respite within the Color Garden, boasting a collection of ferns, camellias, azaleas and many other shade loving perennials and shrubs.

Spring through summer offer the best views of this garden, as we transition from pansies to tulips to summer flowers, surrounding lush, inviting green grass and set against a backdrop of cherry blossoms and crape myrtles. On busy days in Spring and Fall, many guests bring blankets and picnic hampers and dine al fresco.

We usually follow the walkway that goes along the north side of this garden, passing beds of seasonal plants and flowers. Midway along the garden walk there is a walkway that divides the Color Garden into two areas. At the west end of the garden area is the DeGolyer House. Here are some pictures we took as we walked along the north side of the color garden:

These four pictures were taken at the east end of the garden, and you can see the DeGolyer House in the background of some of them. (The first parcel of land that became the Arboretum was donated by the DeGolyers.)

That is the DeGolyer House in the background.

This sculpture is a permanent fixture here in the Jonsson Color Garden.

At the east end of the color garden, right by the stairs leading up to the DeGolyer house, we found another of the Johnson sculptures on display- this one of a young musician playing a guitar.

The DeGolyer House

The 44-acre estate called "Rancho Encinal" was built for geophysicist and Texas Instruments’ founder Everett Lee DeGolyer and his wife Nell. The home was designed by Los Angeles architects Derman Scott and Burton Schutt in 1939, and the house was not completed until just after WWII. Dallas landscape architect Arthur Berger was hired to create the 4½-acre formal gardens east of the house; both overlook White Rock Lake. Key elements of these gardens included a magnolia allée, wisteria arbor, and rose garden. In 1976, the entire estate became a key initial component of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.

The DeGolyer Estate was listed on the National Register in 1978. In 2012, the existing entry landscape was replaced with a new design featuring lush, hardy tropicals and palms. The DeGolyer House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, is also on the Texas Register of Historic Places, and is open daily for tours.

A Woman's Garden

A Woman’s Garden at the Dallas Arboretum is a beautifully designed space that celebrates the strength, grace, and spirit of women through a blend of formal structure and natural beauty.

A Woman's Garden Seen from the DeGolyer House

Divided into two phases, the garden features elegant stonework, water features like an infinity pool, poetry garden, and sweeping views of White Rock Lake.

Here are some of those features:

Just dow some steps from the DeGolyer House there is a small patio where one can sit and look down into A Woman's Garden. The view from this patio is above, left.

At the west entrance to A Woman's Garden (from the Jonsson Color Garden) there begins an elegant step-descending water feature- always a garden feature to stop and enjoy.

This view looks eastward through garden from the base of the stair-stepped water feature.

This is the infinity pool at the east end of the garden. There is an elegant sculpture of a woman in the frame, and there are excellent views of the Dallas skyline from here.

Walking to the Octagonal Fountain

Leaving A Woman's Garden at its east end, there are a series of walkways that wind through an area of water features and sitting areas.

Shortly after leaving A Woman's Garden, we encountered another Johnson sculpture, this one of two women and entitled "Unexpected Encounter".

After a few minutes of pleasant walking, we arrived at the Octagonal Fountain, part of the original DeGolyer House garden that eventually became the nucleus of the Dallas Arboretum.

Along the Paseo

From the Octagonal Fountain, we walked over to the Performance Lawn near the Alex Camp House, and then we began walking back towards the main entrance along the Paseo- the central walkway through the Arboretum. We could have stayed longer, but it was pretty hot by now. Here are some of the pictures we took along the Paseo:

Along the Paseo, back near the DeGolyer House, we encountered another Johnson sculpture, this one entitled "Hot Weather"- certainly appropriate for today.

And then we found ourselves back towards the Trial Gardens, and here we found the last of the Johnson sculptures that we came across today. This one was entitled "Crossing Paths" and depicted two women, well-dressed and obviously out on their own individual errands who have seemed to come across each other, sat down on a bench, and are in the process of catching up.

At least, that is the story that came to my mind when we encountered the sculpture. This sculpture was, to me, the most life-like of all those that we saw- a good illustration of Johnson's claim to fame in creating his life-size, life-like sculptures.

Yet this sculpture was unique among the six Johnson sculptures that we saw today. You might be able to figure out what made it unique if you examine the picture at left closely. But if you can't figure out what's different about this particular sculpture, just click here and the difference will be obvious.

The Trial Garden area is always a colorful display of seasonal plants that the Arboretum has discovered are well-suited to our area, and plant devotees like Fred can get lots of good ideas for their own gardening. Here are a couple of pictures we took here at the Trial Gardens:

Back at the entry plaza we spent a bit of time cooling off in the gift shop and picking up some birthday cards for Prudence and Nancy before heading home. Visits to the Arboretum are always pleasant, and this one was no exception.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	August 9, 2025: Mario's Birthday Party
	May 1 - July 1, 2025: Our Extended Trip to Ecuador
	Return to the Index for 2025