Houston Park Benefits from The Garden Club of Houston’s Seed Savvy

March 11, 2021

Visitors to Houston’s Memorial Park have 600 new reasons to smile.

One hundred Texas native seedlings, grown by The Garden Club of Houston (GCH) for its seventy-eighth annual Bulb & Plant Mart fundraiser, were donated to the George and Barbara Bush Presidential Grove after the fall fundraiser was restricted to online sales of bulbs due to COVID-19. GCH members enthusiastically planted their seedlings, plus another 500 native shrubs and wetland plants, aiding the park’s transition to native species. 

The Bush Grove is located along the Seymour Lieberman exercise trail where the late Mrs. Bush, who was an active GCH member, often exercised with President Bush and the family dogs. 

Among the GCH plants, many grown from seeds for the club’s Nine Natives booth at the fundraiser, were aquatic and green milkweed, Lanceleaf coreopsis, inland sea oats, Texas coneflower, and Winecup. The club began the Nine Natives project three years ago to provide mixed flats of Texas native plants for small urban pocket gardens to help birds, butterflies, bees, and animals survive in an urban environment.

Non-native plants were removed from the park beds prior to the GCH planting day, in keeping with Memorial Park Conservancy’s long range focus to transition many of the park’s plantings to native species. Although the pandemic prevented GCH from selling their Texas plants, members were happy to donate them to benefit all park users. GCH also funds a pollinator garden in Memorial Park, planted with many of their seedlings and propagated plants.

 

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