Spent a week in Texas touring gardens. I was surprised to see that they have the same problems that I cope with, heat, cold and alkalinity. Here's a few representative pictures of what I saw.

Elephant ears at the Dallas arboretum. Everything grows bigger in Texas! BTW the arboretum is less than a half hour from Love Airfield if you ever fly into Texas on Southwest Airlines, and need to kill time on a long overlay. It's a spectacular place, almost as nice as Longwood Gardens.

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Hard to believe this is in Texas! Another gem at the Dallas Arboretum

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One of the nicest Japanese gardens I've ever seen, at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

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A demonstration garden consisting of natives and climate adapted plants at a nursery on the outskirts of Austin.

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The state capitol. Everything from the floor to the door hinges and knobs are embellished with a picture of the state, the word "Texas" or the five pointed star of Texas. I was surprised they didn't have any security, but since one in ten Texans carries a concealed weapon, I guess they just don't want to know ;)

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A proud Texan showing off that they really do things bigger in Texas! (Those are giant windchimes he is standing under)

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