The Gardens at Texas A&M University celebrates summer birthday bash on June 15
Event includes educational activities, fun for all ages
The public is invited to celebrate The Gardens at Texas A&M University’s sixth birthday and the beginning of summer on June 15 during its annual Summer Celebration.
The celebration will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. at the Leach Teaching Gardens, 556 John Kimbrough Blvd., College Station.
Free parking is available in Lots 97 and 100c. For more information about directions or parking, visit The Gardens’ parking and transportation page.
Festivities include fun for everyone
Festivities will include face painting, a balloon artist, a photo wall and birthday cake. A coloring and craft area for children will feature watermelon-themed art activities. Members of the Junior Master Gardeners, the Brazos County Master Gardeners and the Bryan-College Station Public Library System will have demonstrations available throughout The Gardens.
Traditional yard games, snow cones and ice cream will also be available, said Kat Grier, The Gardens’ educational programming and outreach coordinator.
A sensory-free/quiet zone will be set up for those who may need a quieter environment at any point during the event.
“This will be a great way to kick off summer and a chance for us to celebrate another great year of The Gardens with everyone,” Grier said.
Celebrate six years of growth and beauty
The Leach Teaching Gardens is a 7-acre area of the first phase of The Gardens. The teaching gardens include 21 themed gardens, an event lawn, an outdoor classroom, a demonstration area and a pavilion for special events.
The area is a place for visitors to relax and enjoy nature while learning about local ecology and agriculture, said Michael Arnold, Ph.D., director of The Gardens and professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences.
“The Leach Teaching Gardens is the perfect place to commune with the outdoors,” Arnold said. “Our unique setting offers opportunities to enjoy aesthetic gardens, visit ecological demonstrations, learn about pollinator plants and water capture systems, experience the unique glimpse into our food and fiber production systems, and experience the wilder side in our riparian areas near White Creek and the surrounding wildflower fields.”
Arnold said activities have been successful thanks to the design of The Gardens.
“The dynamic and changing nature of The Gardens are at the heart of what brings folks back on a regular basis,” he said. “We try to reinforce this sense of progression by actively planning seasonal aspects of our plantings and by celebrating the heartbeat of the university’s academic year as we plan our events.”
Celebrate all month long
The celebration will continue throughout June with different ways to embrace summer and enjoy the fun after the event, including:
- A scavenger hunt to explore The Gardens as you race to see who can find all items on the list first.
- The Feathered Friends of Summer map to learn about which birds visit The Gardens during the summer.
- Water cans located in the Kitchen Garden to cool off the plants.
- Delicious summer recipes from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Dinner Tonight program:
For more information on the event, visit https://gardens.tamu.edu/birthday-celebration/.
The Gardens is open to visitors daily from dawn to dusk.
