Horticulture Department

While some plants slow down or even stop blooming in the summer heat (can you blame them?), the lilies at Shangri La are going gangbusters! A quick tour around the gardens revealed not only waterlilies blooming but several species in the gardens as well. Starting at the entrance are the […]

Earth Day ushered in the arrival of summer with warmer temps and seasonal rain, making everything in the gardens pop! At last count, over 8,700 summer annuals have been planted in the gardens and color beds along with several flats of herbs and veggies in the Children’s Garden. And we’re […]

Regardless of what the weather is doing or what a groundhog in Pennsylvania may have said, Spring has sprung in SETX and there’s a buzz of activity in the gardens. That buzz is sometimes literal, as we’ve gotten the power tools out to do some seasonal maintenance such as shearing […]

The Production Greenhouse Team has been very busy this month planting thousands of seeds and plugs for the spring 2022 season. Angelonia, Begonia, Calendula, Coleus, Geranium, ornamental grasses, Penta, and Scaevola are just some of the different plants the team has been working hard to grow. Not only are they potting and planting for […]

Looking at the radar, we feel for our northern neighbors who are getting hit with freezing rain and snow. Our Gulf Coast weather may be a bit more mild but it’s still winter and birds need to eat. Enter National Feed the Birds Day every February 3 to draw attention […]

With a hard freeze this past weekend, the garden staff are still in the midst of the annual winter whack. Even with the frigid temps, there are still flowers to be seen. Along with the cool season annuals, some blooms come as a bit of a surprise, some not. The […]

BRRR This weekend is going to be freezing. literally! While you’re making preparations, please remember the 4P’s. Additional plant care tips from our Senior Horticulturist, Deb Wiles: “Potted plants should be brought indoors, if possible. If not possible, cover them with a blanket or specially made landscape freeze cloth (available […]

Fall is in the air and the gardeners at Shangri La have been busy installing annuals for the new season! The team took a break while laying out the Be Kind To Your World sign to admire the sunflowers beginning to emerge. Situated at the corner of the gardens on […]

As we head into summer, we continue to recover from the pandemic, Hurricane Laura and the historic winter freeze. Over the past few weeks, as plants arrived, there has been a flurry of activity to layout new plants and get them planted throughout the gardens. Jennifer Buckner, Director of Horticulture, and her […]

It was just crazy luck that our first open Saturday in almost exactly a year coincided with the Vernal Equinox! Visitors to the gardens on the official first day of Spring were treated to cheerful pops of color and that bright green hue that signals new growth. Although the citrus […]