My Neck Of The Woods. Weston Gardens in Fort Worth, Texas

For those who love flowers, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has delightful gardens. The Fort Worth Botanical Garden claims to be the oldest in Texas. Dallas boasts the Dallas Arboretum. Both are a delight to the senses, and both can be found in guidebooks.

There’s a little known jewel in Fort Worth … well, almost in Arlington … that you might want to find. It’s called Weston Garden, and they call it “English Gardens — Texas style.” I’ve been in love with the place for years, wishing that I could make my back yard into such a paradise.

If you drive down Anglin Road, you’ll think I’m crazy, because it seems like you are driving into the boondocks. You’ll see tiny farms raising goats and horses on either side of the road. Then, you’ll come upon a garden center on your left. Your real destination is the “Demonstration Garden” opposite the garden center. When it is in full bloom, it is magnificent.

We ventured there Friday, hoping to take pictures, but the flowers are still asleep (good thing, because we are expecting a freeze overnight). Still from these few photos, I think you can see it is a lovely place to venture for a walk or just to meditate. While we were there a bride, with her gown gathered high above her knees, was tiptoeing down the pathways searching for the most photogenic spot for her wedding photos.

It was once the estate of a wealthy man, named Leon Bandy, who must have been a bit eccentric. Along the creek that winds through the property, he built a “stone ocean liner.” Seriously! The deck was used as a dance floor when they threw parties. I didn’t get a good picture of it, because the current owners are doing some restoration. You can see pictures and read it’s fascinating history here. There are “Italian style grottoes” built of sandstone, and everywhere are beds of flowers that will grow well in our climate.

The owners say: “Our project is one of redesigning and replanting using native Texas flora and highly-acclimated plants. Our goal is to preserve the historical, yet add new gardens and architectural elements that are relevant to today’s gardener.”

They make it look so easy. AND, if you fall in love with any of the blooms, you can step across the road to the garden center and take them home with you! Many of the modern sculptures nestled among the flowers are for sale, too.

If you go there, that red-headed woman sitting in the grotto meditating might just be me. I can’t get down to that neck of the woods without dropping in to see what’s in bloom. And, if you see me, please escort me to my car so that I don’t go to the garden center and spend all my grocery money.

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This is one of a series of posts I am doing on Saturdays called “My Neck Of The Woods.” My neck of the woods is pretty big, because I consider that it encompasses all of The Lone Star State! Each Saturday, I will post about something in my area, or in my state, that a tourist passing through here might not know to find.

I invite y’all to join me in that. As bloggers, we are in a unique position to get our opinions out on the internet for all the world to see. I think it would be fantastic to have a whole list of resources from around the country (or for that matter, the world!). If we post, we could add links to other bloggers who are posting about their own home towns. Soon, nobody will need those guide books, because they will have us!

Three things I’ll ask of you, if you decide to post:

1. Talk about something that you have visited, so you can give a first-hand review of it for the readers. A favorite local restaurant, a unique store, a festival, a small town museums, a local bed and breakfast inn, family friendly parks, hiking trails, and anything else you think qualifies as something that would interest you as a traveler, and hope it might interest someone else.
2. Title it “My Neck Of The Woods [+ the name of the attraction or the town],” and tag it with “travel” and your state, so people could track them all on the internet.
3. Come back to my own posting for that Saturday to let me know, so we can share links.

I’ll list the posts (of people who tell me they’ve written) here:

• Jehara, who is in my own neck of the woods, posted a great article on The Spiral Diner in Fort Worth! Yeehaw!
• Thorne, at my request, posted about Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch in California.
• Jamie stepped a little beyond her neck of the woods, to Scotland to tell us about a “friend” of hers.
• Faith, who is also in my neck of the woods, posted about the Cosmic Cafe in Dallas. Who knew there was more than one vegetarian restaurant in Texas?
• You are next

Other posts you might enjoy:

1. My Neck Of The Woods. Villa’s in Irving, Texas.
2. St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Lindsay, Texas. My Neck Of The Woods
3. Royer’s Cafe in Round Top, Texas. My Neck of the Woods.
4. My Neck Of The Woods. Lucy’s On The Square in Celina, Texas
5. My Neck Of The Woods

Tagged as: Fort Worth, MY NECK OF THE WOODS, Talkin' 'bout Texas, Texas Travel, Weston Gardens