San Antonio Botanical Gardens

 
 
 
 My friend Shari and I went to see the San Antonio Botanical Gardens today - what a beautiful place! It is on 33 acres near downtown. Some of the outside plants and trees were not in bloom yet, but many were. We were first greeted by gorgeous trees and landscaping outside the gate, and entered through an old limestone building. Once inside the grounds, we went through a courtyard with flowering pear trees and potted plants, fountains and flowers. There are lots of things for children - special gardens including a vegetable garden and a sensory garden with sculptures and plants to touch and smell. The conservatory was a large glass ceiling building with different rooms for various kinds of plants. We saw gorgeous orchids among other flowers - such amazing colors everywhere. One room had only ferns, some of them huge. A very good three person band was playing -- guitar, marimba and drums. I don't know how to describe the music, kind of a latin jazz sound. Today was "Chocolate Day". We listened to a talk that was all about chocolate - from how the pods grow on the cacao tree, history of chocolate from the Aztecs to modern day. We got to see the 'theobroma cacao' tree, pods with seeds, and of course we had luscious chocolate samples!

We had lunch in the main building that also has a gift shop. We expected maybe just a snack bar, but the "Bistro" restaurant part was classy, with cloth napkins and Mikasa tableware. The food was very good. We ate inside but next time we'll ask for the outdoor patio. We were there for several hours and didn't even see everything. We plan to go back next month when even more plants will be in bloom.