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Tours |
Coming soon at the
2011 Texas State Master Gardener Conference in Glen Rose!
You won’t find a better selection of Tours than those planned for 2011 — they’re downright great!
These not-to-miss tours are sure to fill up fast, so register early.
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Wednesday Tours
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Tours 1-4 will utilize Executive Coach buses, which will leave the Expo at staggered times.
Buses will be filled on first registered, first served basis and individuals will not be able to choose specific departure times. Please check your tour tickets when you pick up your registration packet at the conference to confirm your specific departure time.
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Tour 1 - Seville Farms
Bus 1 Departs 9:30 a.m. Returns 3:30 p.m.
Bus 2 Departs 10 a.m. Returns 4:00 p.m.
Cost of Tour $30, includes lunch
Maximum -100
Travel by bus to visit one of the largest wholesale nurseries in Texas. At first glance, you will be amazed at the vista — acres of greenhouses stretching almost as far as the eye can see. After hearing a brief, fascinating history of the nursery’s operations, you will tour behind the scenes to observe how plants are grown, packaged and shipped to independent nurseries and large retailers across the state.
Visit the production barns to see assembly lines and a programmable automatic planting machine; 4,000 flats are planted each day. Check out the huge distribution center filled with hundreds upon hundreds of plants being prepared and loaded on 25-30 trucks per day. See the propagation/plug production area and stroll through selected greenhouses. Tour highlights include a visit to the esteemed Thomas Moore Rose Collection, which is housed at Seville Farms. This collection was gifted to Texas A & M University and consists of more than 300 rose varieties. Gain a better understanding of the nursery business and learn industry terms, techniques and perhaps a few secrets! Lunch is included at Seville Farms’ Party Barn.
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Tour 2 - Chandor Gardens and Doss Heritage Center
Bus 1 Departs 9 a.m. Returns 3 p.m.
Bus 2 Departs 9:30 a.m. Returns 3:30 p.m.
Cost of Tour $40, includes lunch
Maximum - 100
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Chandor Gardens
A visit to Chandor is like no other experience. Now owned by the city of Weatherford, Chandor was once the private estate of famed portrait artist Douglas Chandor, who painted luminaries such as Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill. After moving to Texas with his native Weatherford bride in the 1930s, he set about turning a dry, rock-strewn property into a shady, water-filled retreat. His eye for the artistic is evidenced by the Garden's ingenious layout and intricate stonework. A 40-ft. man-made waterfall with stones weighing up to 15 tons is one of the garden's many features.
Both native and exotic plants fill the various “rooms” that define Chandor as an intimate garden experience. Horticulturist Stephen Chamblee, formerly of the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, now oversees the garden’s development. Today, the 3.5-acre garden is an interesting mix of traditional English gardens, water features and Chinese gardens. It is home to koi ponds, a large gazebo, a huge spiraling pergola, a dragon fountain, a moon gate, a cave grotto, a fairy pond and a bowling green!
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Doss Heritage and Culture Center
The Doss Heritage and Culture Center lives up to its slogan; it makes history come alive! Inside this 23,000 sq. ft., award-winning museum, you will immerse yourself in Texas legends and traditions as diverse as oil and cattle barons, cowboys, political leaders and Broadway/television stars. This memorable facility houses exhibits that are unique to Texas and dedicated to preserving the history and culture of the area. For instance, the Heritage Gallery houses an interactive display that teaches early pioneer and American Indian life. Hear cowboy tunes, see chuck wagons and stagecoaches, view an art exhibit, get to know Rawhide the longhorn steer and browse the gift shop. A boxed lunch will be served in Heritage Hall. Travel approximately one hour by bus. This tour is combined with a visit to Chandor Gardens. |
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Tour 3 - Red Caboose Winery
Bus 1 Departs 9:30 a.m. Returns 2:30 p.m.
Bus 2 Departs 9:45 a.m. Returns 2:45 p.m.
Cost of Tour $35, includes lunch
Maximum - 100
When your bus enters the gate adorned with the red caboose, you sense that something special is just around the curve — and it is! This Meridian, Texas wine producer is making history, not just with its award-winning wine, but also with its innovative, environmentally friendly operation. You’ll first admire row upon row of lush, productive grapevines. Unlike many wineries, they grow their own grapes — more than 14,000 certified grafted grapevines and 13 grape varieties. Closer to the building that houses their stainless steel tanks and barrel cellar, which boasts more than 150 oak barrels, you’ll see their rainwater catchment system. It yields about 16,000 gallons of rainwater for every 4” of rain. The rainwater is used for fire protection and irrigation and saves energy when water is not pumped from the wells.
This “green” wine producer cools and heats the 7,000 sq. ft. facility, which was built using sustainable design principles, with geothermal energy. Red Caboose is the only Texas winery to cool, refrigerate and chill by only using geothermal. The winery is designed to produce 10,000 cases of wine annually. After your tour, enjoy a wine tasting, shop in the Red Caboose store, stroll in the vineyard, see the old railroad caboose or gather for a toast on the rustic-style veranda beside the native stone fireplace. A boxed lunch is included.
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Thursday Tours
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Tour 4 - Clark Gardens
Bus 1 Departs 9 a.m. Returns 3 p.m.
Bus 2 Departs 9:30 a.m. Returns 3:30 p.m.
Bus 3 Departs 10 a.m. Returns 4 p.m.
Cost of Tour $35, includes lunch
Maximum - 150
You will venture by bus to Mineral Wells to see the magical Clark Gardens Botanical Park. What was once a cactus and mesquite filled prairie, is now a world-class operation. Open year-round, this garden began as a personal dream of Max and Billie Clark who wanted to create their own Texas version of a classical English garden. It combines traditional design with regional plantings and practices. Since they began planting in the 1970s, the Clarks relied on tough Texas native and well adapted plants as the backbone of their garden. They nurtured the garden by using their water supplies wisely. Over time, Clark Gardens sprawled to more than 50 gardens on 35 acres. In 2000, the gardens opened to the public.
Always works in progress, the gardens are models of beautiful, yet sustainable landscapes. Featured plantings include Texas natives and other well-adapted, low-maintenance plants. Many are drought tolerant. Aside from the irises, poppies, daylilies, roses and other plantings, the garden is known for its sparkling ponds and their waterfowl, which include migrating ducks and majestic white swans. Also on site is an historic tree trail, which is planted with tree cultivars known to have witnessed events that shaped Texas and the nation.
Clark Gardens also attracts visitors with its G-Scale model garden trains meandering on 1,200 feet of track, including seven-foot-high trestles. Also special is the garden’s chapel with its stained glass and ornate hand-carved doors. It sits across from a meditation garden that includes raised beds wrapped in serpentine walls and topped by a bronze sculpture of Max and his dog Chocolate. A lakeside lunch is included in this tour.
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Tour 5 - Historic Granbury Square &
Demonstration Garden
Use your own transportation. Map Provided
1:30pm, return 4:30pm
No Cost
Historic Granbury Square & Environs
Listed in 1974 in the National Register of Historic Places Granbury Square is described by the Department of the Interior as "One of the most complete examples of a late 19th-century courthouse square in Texas." The Hood County Courthouse, which was built in 1891 and renovated as recently as 2010, anchors the square with its famous clock tower. Across from the courthouse stands the Granbury Opera House, which was built in 1886 and restored in 1975. The surrounding restored buildings house fine antiques, gift shops, art galleries, a winery, a quaint bookstore, specialty stores and restaurants. You’ll find an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and tearoom, along with a tempting chocolate shop. On the side streets near the square, you’ll see wonderful historic homes dating to the late 1800s to early 1900s.
Granbury prides itself as the town “Where Texas History Lives.” It was founded in the 1860s and most of the buildings in the Historic District were built in the late 1800s. Many structures are fully restored and boast historical markers. The Square is a prototype for restoration projects across America. This is a town rich in history and folklore, with ties to Bonnie & Clyde, Jesse James, John Wilkes Booth and Davy Crockett. On your walking tour, keep an eye out for the costumed gunfighters and prominent citizens who are happy to share historic insights with visitors.
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Master Gardener Demonstration Garden
When Hood County converted the former demonstration garden into a parking lot, the Lake Granbury Master Gardeners faced the challenge of constructing a new, expanded garden with scarce funds. They met the challenge head on, achieving their goals by using available volunteer muscle, fundraising and public relations skills, plant & construction knowledge and old-fashioned hard work. They raised money, created the design, built the landscape beds and pathways, installed rainwater harvesting tanks and duel-drip irrigation systems and, of course, added plants.
The LGMG Demonstration, Research and Educational Garden offers a place to test plants and educate the public on best horticultural practices. The garden consists of 16 raised beds and 11 freeform beds housing a variety of annuals, perennials, grasses and vegetables. Also on site is an extensive EarthKindTM Rose trial garden. The site has educational displays on composting, mulching and water conservation. Signs and literature enable self-guided tours. An open-air activity center permits on-site educational instruction. A multi-purpose building serves as a greenhouse, potting area and classroom where hands-on workshops are held. The latest additions to the garden are the fruit trees and an extensive children’s garden, which was built in 2010.
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Tour 6 - Happy Hill Farm Academy
Carpool or use your own transportation. Meet in the Expo front parking lot at 1:30 p.m. for 1:45 p.m. departure.
Arrive at Happy Hill by 2:00 p.m. Enter through the security gate
to park and board the tour busses.
Return 4:30 pm Cost of Tour $10
Maximum - 100
This working, 500-acre farm provides a wholesome, healthy, rural lifestyle for deserving students who need or desire a place to live and learn away from home. You will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of this amazing facility via tour bus with guide. Included is a visit to their greenhouse, potting shed and extensive herb and vegetable gardens, which help to stock the Farm's kitchen. You will stroll their lovely ornamental gardens, which are filled with water features and bronze sculptures. Along the way you will catch glimpses of the animals that the children raise including longhorn, bison and horses.
Another favorite site is the Farm's antique tool and farm implement collection.
So impressive is Happy Hill that the Academy receives extensive backing from the Dallas Cowboys, who support the Farm's mission of helping children escape from at-risk situations. At the Academy, positive work habits, attitudes and skills are taught in addition to fine arts and academics. They also boast an award-winning sports program! Happy Hill is not a prep school, correctional facility nor a treatment facility. It is an accredited, interdenominational Christian school where up to 100 students live and participate in 4-H, horticulture, sports, music, art and other opportunities. It is operated almost entirely on donations. Your fee for this tour will be donated to Happy Hill as a gift from the 2011 TMGA Conference. This tour is limited to the first 100 participants. |
Friday Tours
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Tour 7 - Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Take your own transportation to Fossil Rim. Arrive at the Fossil Rim front gate by the time stated below for your tour (morning or afternoon). Safari vehicles, which begin the tour at staggered times, are provided on site. Check your tour tickets to confirm the exact time your safari vehicle departs from the visitor center.
Morning Tour: Arrive at the Fossil Rim front gate (visitor center)
by 9 a.m. for the morning tour.
Tour cost $35 includes lunch.
Afternoon Tour: Arrive at the Fossil Rim front gate (visitor center)
by 1 p.m. for the afternoon tour.
Tour cost $30. Lunch is not included.
Maximum for each tour 130
Rhinos and zebras — oh my! Journey only minutes from the heart of Glen Rose to the heart of Africa. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center offers the experience of a lifetime — 1,700 acres where 1,100 wild animals roam freely in near natural conditions! The Center, which specializes in captive management programs for endangered and threatened wildlife species, has an integrated approach to conservation that blends scientific and environmental agendas. At Fossil Rim, animals are managed in such a way that they can socialize and reproduce much as they would in the wild.
You’ll travel aboard an open air safari vehicle along the Center’s scenic 9.5 mile wildlife drive where animals as diverse as giraffes, wildebeest, bongos, fallow dear, emus and antelopes will come within mere inches of your camera! A well-trained volunteer will accompany each tour group to both educate and entertain with interesting facts about the zoology and ecology of the many species encountered.
About halfway through the morning tour, you will visit the Safari Camp where your included lunch will be served. If you visit in the afternoon, meals and snacks are available for purchase at the scenic Overlook Café. Souvenirs are sold at the nearby Nature Store. The Center, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, is currently building a new and expanded Children’s Animal Center.
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Tour 8 - Master Gardener Home Garden Tours
Take your own transportation to the gardens. A map will be provided. You are on your own for lunch.
Note: You have the option to take the morning Fossil Rim Tour, workshop or Educational Sessions and then visit the gardens.
Please arrive at the last garden you intend to visit by 3:30 p.m.
Cost of Tour $10
Tour several unique private gardens on a self-guided tour. You’ll see a one-acre lakeside property filled with perennials and ornamental grasses and featuring a meandering stream and naturalistic ponds. Next, visit a four-acre property that sits on two private lakes. It boasts terraced gardens, water features, Texas natives and a view of historic Comanche Peak. Down the road you will visit a former vineyard, which now houses acres upon acres planted in roses, perennials, shrubs, trees and groundcovers. This country property features unique handmade ‘found art’. Nearby, tour a five-acre garden that boasts more than 65 varieties of roses including all of the EarthKind RosesTM, a pond and water feature, fruit trees, a golf green, a greenhouse and extensive perennial beds. Central to the property are several ancient oak trees. |
Anytime Tours
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On Your Own
 Other attractions/activities you may wish to enjoy “on your own” in Hood and Somervell counties include: scenic countryside, authentic dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River in Dinosaur Valley State Park, boating or floating in the Brazos River and Lake Granbury, shows at the Texas Amphitheater and the Brazos Drive-in Theater, Historic Granbury Square with its shops as well as Granbury Opera House & Granbury Live performances, Barking Rocks Winery, Shanley House Center for the Arts, the Granbury/Glen Rose Art Exhibit at Granbury Square Plaza, Barnard's Mill, Acton Nature Center, Granbury City Beach, events at Tarleton's Langdon Center, museums, galleries, parks, golf courses, hiking trails, special events and much, much more.
Turn your educational experience into a vacation you won't soon forget. See all Hood and Somervell Counties have to offer!
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| Printable Tour Page (pdf) |
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