Grapevine Botanical Gardens
When I need a large dose of nature — in town
Tucked in the middle of bustling Grapevine, Texas, lies a small parcel of peace and respite.
Twelve acres of botanical paradise at the corner of Wall and Ball Streets have their beginnings back in the 1930s. In 1938, the Grapevine Garden Club, formed six years earlier, urged the Grapevine City Council to purchase three acres for a park. The site was first called City Park and it was later renamed Heritage Park.
A Boy Scout hut was built at the site in 1939 for the first scout troop west of the Mississippi to use as a meeting site. The Grapevine Garden Club again came to the rescue and provided the landscaping and maintenance.
Time passed. The city changed and grew. And the garden club stayed active and involved in their community.
In 1972, the Cotton Belt Depot building was relocated to Heritage Park. The garden club was a vital component of the restoration of the building, as well as the dedication of the Grapevine Historical Museum. With this new addition, the Grapevine Historical Society was created.
Grapevine resident and council member Shane Wilbanks visited Botanica in Wichita, Kansas. His enthusiasm for the botanical concept continued after he returned home.
In a remembrance of the garden club’s history (Ninety Years and Still Growing — Grapevine Garden Club Celebrates Their 90th Anniversary), they report:
With the purchase of the Bessie Mitchell house and property in 1995, Councilman Shane Wilbanks’ vision that Grapevine would benefit from a peaceful respite prompted plans for the Grapevine Botanical Gardens to begin. Additional acres were acquired in 1997, bringing the total to twelve acres. GGC has contributed to the evolution of the gardens. Along with adding plants and labor to numerous areas of the gardens, they raised $50,000 to build the Pewitt Pavilion and $150,000 to build the greenhouse. Both projects provide areas for educational programs.
Beginning in 2000, the botanic gardens began to become a reality.
Heritage Park is a favorite community park with two play structures, basketball and tennis courts, and a large lawn. The botanical gardens, accented with magnificent public art pieces is truly a place to stop, wander, and get away from the stresses of everyday life.
On my latest visit there, I discovered a new tree, slightly off the path that I normally walk.
No, it’s not a NEW tree.
The tree is much, much older than I am. The tree is actually older than the state of Texas is.
It has a plaque that says The National Arborist Association and The International Society of Arboriculture jointly recognize the tree as being here at the time of the signing of our constitution.
I could stand and admire it’s majesty forever, I think. It’s now one of my favorite spots to visit in this small little nature preserve.
I wish it were closer. I wish it were in walking distance. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the house, which isn’t too bad. I guess the good thing is that it’s just far enough that I’m not going to go every day — which means that visiting here will remain a special moment, and as it adds joy and nature to my life, I won’t be taking it for granted.
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