ZimSculpt Artist Interviews
The upcoming ZimSculpt exhibit at the Houston Botanic Garden will surround visitors with an exquisitely curated collection of more than 100 Zimbabwean Shona stone sculptures that celebrate the harmony of art and nature. To add to the visually stunning experience, two resident artists – Percy Kuta and Passmore Mupindiko – will be actively sculpting new masterpieces daily, providing visitors with a first-hand glimpse into the artistic process. ZimSculpt founder Vivienne Croisette shares her insights into why the award-winning exhibition has become such an international phenomenon and described how Shona sculpture has become the most collected type of African art in the world. Artists Percy Kuta and Passmore Mupindiko also tells us about their passion for sculpting and helping visitors better understand the rich heritage reflected in the art form.
Houston Health Department
Houston Botanic Garden will be one of nine area locations to host an air quality monitoring device for a year as part of a recently awarded grant funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and led by the Houston Health Department. The device placed at the Houston Botanic Garden will passively but continuously collect air samples over the course of a year.
Tree Flagging
During the winter of 2024, Houston Botanic Garden’s horticulture team, with the help of volunteers, staked, flagged, and mapped 116 young trees in its South Gardens. Staking, flagging, and mapping these young trees ensures they are properly cared for and protected during routine site maintenance. It also ensures they are included in the Garden’s drought watering program maps, which are important in the event of a not-unusual-for-Houston hot, dry summer.
The Dopest Historian
Whitney Brantley, a.k.a. The Dopest Historian, served as the official historian of the Garden’s Juneteenth celebration, A Wine Walk to Remember, last year and frequently hosts a variety of tours and talks related to Black history and Houston history.
Better Impact
Recently, Houston Botanic Garden took the first step toward upgrading the system for managing volunteer recruitment and activities. After a successful testing period, a complete transition to the new volunteer management software by Better Impact is underway in February 2024.
Radiant Nature Signage
When you attend Radiant Nature, be sure to watch for the informative signage that accompanies many of the installations with interesting plant information, courtesy of members of the Garden’s horticulture staff.
Mary Carol Edwards
Beginning in 2024, the Houston Botanic Garden is proud to host a first-of-its-kind opportunity in the city: the Land Care Institute’s Certification Program. One of the course instructors is Mary Carol Edwards, the owner of Green Star Wetland Plant Farm and an advocate and expert in sustainable landscapes.
Houston Airports
As part of the Houston Airport System’s cultural collaboration efforts, which draw on local artistic talent and promote the city’s cultural institutions to establish a sense of place, an installation inspired by the Houston Botanic Garden was unveiled in a lounge area at Hobby Airport in the fall of 2022. The installation is getting an upgrade this year, along with a relocation within Hobby Airport.
Amazing Amaryllis
The Stories Plants Tell… Plants tell stories, without saying a single word. Picture a cherry tree in full bloom; big blackberries bursting with flavor; orange, red, and yellow leaves on a deciduous tree; or bare branches covered in snow. What do those images bring to mind? If you thought spring, summer, fall, and winter, you understood the story told by just the sight of those plants, without…
Featured
Featured