Located in view of the Dallas skyline, and overlooking White Rock Lake, the 66 acre Dallas Arboretum is a year round sensory experience.
Most of the Arboretum is made up of the 44 acre Rancho Encinal, originally owned by Everett DeGolyer, whose wife Nell was an avid gardener.
Over the years it has grown into several gardens, with different focuses in each. There are 12 named gardens, with one (Texas Town) offering 7 sub-gardens on 2 ½ acres dedicated to the importance of plants to the survival of the pioneers.
The other gardens range from Nancy’s Garden, located outside the DeGolyer master bedroom (and one of Mrs. DeGolyer’s favorite gardening spots), to the Jonnson Color Garden featuring more than 2,000 varieties of azaleas (!), also planted in the Color Garden are tulips, dogwood, canna, chrysanthemums, daffodils and caladiums.
A Woman’s Garden was conceived, funded and designed by women. This series of gardens is a 1.8 acre formal garden brought to life by the Women’s Council.
As spectacular as the gardens themselves are, with their riot of colors and smells attracting a great variety of colorful and beautifully voiced birds; the Dallas Arboretum has a summer concert schedule, ½ and full day summer camps for the kids; lectures, classes (both for adults and children), exhibits, picnics, and it even manages to squeeze in plant research.
The Dallas Arboretum often features special events, such as Peter Rabbit’s Flower Village. Located in the pecan grove, there are four topiary houses related to Beatrix Potter’s books. The children can go inside the house and see the displays relating to the books and the characters that ‘belong’ to each house. There are live animals that are depicted by the characters there daily, with docents to answer questions.
Current and previous summer concerts include Brave Combo, Blaze of Glory, Kraig Parker, The Project, Le Freak and Deryl Dodd & the Homesick Cowboys. Be sure to contact the Dallas Arboretum to find out the newest upcoming concerts.
There is a café on the grounds, with a selection of wines in addition to non-alcoholic beverages, so you don’t have to worry about bringing food. You might wish to have a prepared dinner before the concert.
Summer Camp is geared for children ranging in age from 4 to 10. They are each one week (M-F) and have different themes. Creature Feature is for the younger set, and spotlights a different animal that lives in the gardens each day; Back to the Future is for the budding scientist, studying fossils and dinosaurs, space, and volcanoes; Garden Party is crafts and games; and Creepy Crawlies explores the world of bugs.
For the older end of the spectrum, there is Nature Detectives, taking a look at the mysteries of nature; CSI: Cool Science Investigations engages in the earth and natural sciences with hands on experiments; Sculpture Sensations not only directs children to investigate the Arboretum’s three dimensional art work, but helps them create their own; and finally, there is Survivor: Arboretum! Teams will build a solar oven and face other challenges as they race to navigate the Arboretum.
Adult classes include creative arts- painting, sculpture and photography; horticulture, floral design and landscape design; even soap and candle making.
Anyone who visits the Dallas Arboretum and is not overwhelmed by the beauty and variety of activities isn’t paying attention.