The Houston Arboretum and Nature Center (155 acres) is a non-profit

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

and nature center located in Memorial Park at 4501 Woodway Drive,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is open daily with free admission. The arboretum was first conceived by Robert A. Vines, and in 1951 park land was set aside by the City Council for the Houston Botanical Society. (Today's arboretum is somewhat smaller than its initial site.) The children's botanical hall was funded in 1966, and nature center begun in 1967. The Houston Arboretum is managed by the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center Board of Directors and staff under an agreement with the City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department. The organization was renamed in the 1980s; donations in the 1990s provided for major renovations and expansions. Today the arboretum contains over five miles (8 km) of nature trails, with forest, pond, wetland, and meadow habitats. Specialty gardens include a Hummingbird & Butterfly Island, Sensory Garden, and Wildlife Garden. It is a favorite date spot for Houstonians.

See also