TRAVEL HERE:  MUCH TO LOVE ABOUT DALLAS ARBORETUM AND BOTANICAL SOCIETY

My mother loves gardening and from the moment she heard an estate on the edge of White Rock Lake had been earmarked for an arboretum, she pledged her heart to it.  The plans for the gardens were announced a few years before she retired.  When the city threw an open house for interested parties, I went with her to see what the fuss was about.  She told me she wanted to play a part in the project.  Our family’s modest means wouldn’t provide a vast monetary donation, so Mom gave herself.

From Nothing, Bounty

In its infancy, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society (DABS) needed everything.  The land for the Arboretum, which had been donated to SMU and then sold by the university to the city, had two homes on it.  The grounds were lovely, but no one would have called it an Arboretum.

There were rolling hills, a great view of the lake, huge trees and lots of grass, but very little in the way of floral displays.  Volunteers planted, mulched, watered, raised funds, served cookies, dusted furniture, started a gift shop…well, they did whatever needed to be done.

When she retired, Mom joined the ranks of the docents in the DeGolyer House.  They gave tours of the house, even though there was little beyond architectural features to show.  The owners donated the house and the grounds, but all the furnishing went to the owner’s children and grandchildren.  Over time, furnishings authentic to the house or the period found their way into the rooms, but in the beginning, visitors wandered through vast empty rooms.

Mom volunteered much of her time and energy to the Arboretum.  Throughout the year, she gave tours on Thursdays and during special events she’d sign up to help on other shifts.  She’d pack her lunch, park in the volunteers lot  and spend the day at the DeGolyer House infecting visitors from all over the world with her love for the arboretum.  As part of a housekeeping committee she’d dust the mantles, windowsills and library shelves.  She made cookies for a fund-raising committee and spent as much money as she could afford in the gift shop.  The Volunteer Bulletin Board in the gardens could have been called “Ruth’s Hall of Fame.”

DABS Grows Like Weeds

And the gardens were growing.  The Lay family of Frito-Lay fame donated an ornamental garden.  The primary walkways became the Paseo de Flores.  Other prominent families donated the Jonsson Color Garden, the Boswell Family Garden, the Palmer Fern Dell and the McCasland Sunken Garden.  Our family donated Mom.

Then I moved to California with my husband.  One day I attended a luncheon sponsored by a local women’s networking group.  If I’d really been paying attention, I wouldn’t have been caught by surprise, but after lunch I turned my chair to see the speaker better.  Projected on the screen was a familiar vista of my hometown arboretum.  The speaker, who was priming the pump for a local horticulture project, said, “Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens are the perfect example of what a community garden should be.”

The speaker was right.  The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens are a perfect example of what a community garden should be.  The rich have donated the funds to make the gardens beautiful and the rest of us have given our time.  On any given Sunday afternoon children play in the fountains amid large stone frogs.  Many brides plan their weddings in the gardens and many more just come to be photographed.  Throughout the summer, concerts fill weekday evenings.  An extravaganza called Blooms graces the Spring and Fall has Autumn at the Arboretum.  In summer, children frolic in fantastic cottages and in winter, local decorators festoon the DeGolyer house with imaginative Christmas trees.  Every day, tour buses drop off hordes of visitors from around the globe.  I go as often as I can to see the garden and honor my mother’s contribution to it.

Come to Dallas.  When you come, save a day for the arboretum.  I’m sorry to say that if you come on a Thursday, Mom won’t be there to lead the tour.  She’s much too frail for that now.  But you can smell our most fragrant flower and enjoy our  beautiful bouquet – The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

TRAVEL HERE: BLUEBONNETS AND BOATS

When the calendar page turns to Spring, my life gets a little more exciting.  Take this week, for instance.

Bluebonnets

Saturday morning the sun was out and bluebonnets were calling my name, but by the end of the day, more than wildflowers were blooming.  Bill and I were on our way to the annual Ennis Bluebonnet Festival.  We took a little side adventure to get some foot-long coney’s at a Sonic somewhere in South Dallas and I won’t bore you with the details, but the conversation was good.

Bill & I both work from home and spend most of every day together, but it’s only when I get him out of the house that I discover what’s going on in his mind.  Bill’s considering some changes to his professional pursuits and over our coneys he opened up about what he’s thinking of doing.  Even if we never made it to Ennis, that curbside conversation was well worth leaving the house.

Coneys consumed and conversation in full throttle, we let the GPS take us back to the interstate.  The plan was to find Exit 259 and view some bluebonnets, then take in the festival.  Almost as soon as we entered the freeway, we saw there was a Sonic at the next exit.  But if we’d stayed on 45, I might have missed the opportunity to hear what Bill was thinking, because the Sonic was part of a service station and we would have zoomed through the drive-thru for burgers instead of enjoying coneys on a sun-drenched patio.  Still chatting away, I checked the exit number, which was in the 270’s and a mile or so north of Ennis.  I knew we were close, but our interesting conversation distracted me until we reached Exit 251B.  Since this was the exit to downtown Ennis, we figured it was fated we should enjoy the festival first and then see the bluebonnets.

One of Bill’s possible career choices involves direct marketing, so he extemporaneously interviewed some of the vendors.  At one booth a landscape painter, who also sold handmade jewelry by other artists, bragged that he’d replaced his corporate income with his dual product lines and he was much happier than he had been before.  Since food was one of Bill’s possible products, we watched to see if sampling led to purchases and promised each other we’d never market anything  we had to deep fry on location.  Further along we found a petting zoo.  The proprietor had dumped her mortgage lending career at the height of the real estate boom and now had five crews running petting zoos at birthday parties, festivals and such, all over the area.  She’d replaced her corporate income and her husband’s salary many times over.  Bill began to really warm up to his new project.

Needless to say, the bluebonnets were beautiful and we found the people-watching almost as entertaining as the seasonal flora.  The day was perfect in every single way – but that’s not how every adventure turns out.  On a gorgeous day a few weeks before, Bill was invited to a networking event on a catamaran at Lake Lewisville.  The sunshine outside his window prompted him to sign us up.  He had no idea the day of the actual event would be cold, misty and windy.

The Boat

Early on the morning of the sunset sail, I asked Bill if a patio dress would be appropriate for the cruise.  He assured me it would, but the weather insisted I wear jeans and long sleeves, instead.  No sunshine brightened our route as we crawled north on Preston Road and Hwy 121.  When we found our turnoff, it looked as if we were headed into a residential area, not to something called Pier 121.  As we got out of the car, I felt my hair frizz.  I also realized I should have brought along a winter coat.  The omens were not auspicious.

But the omens were wrong!  Linking Together In North Texas sponsored a great (if chilly) event.  Big D Cats’ Chamonix II is a glorious sailing vessel and Captain Mike keeps her spotless.  The attendees were as eager to eat the delicious barbecue from Rudy’s as they were to welcome newcomers to their ranks.  I learned about a new Writers Guild a printer was hoping to start, got a lead on a possible freelance writing gig and found some new readers for my blog.  All this and a sunset cruise – even if the sunset was obscured by the wind, clouds and mist.

It’s spring and everything’s blossoming out – bluebonnets and opportunities.  What are you anticipating before the dog days of summer arrive?