The Butterfly Garden, which is host to many species of butterflies, is also the site of the Julia Hill Memorial Sun Dial. Julia Hill was the founder of the Bay City Nature Club and the Nature Center is a lasting tribute to her love of Nature. The Butterfly Garden has many varieties of flowers that attract butterflies i.e., cloudless sulphurs, Gulf fritillaries, pipevine swallotails, and ocola skippers.
At the entrance to the Butterfly garden is a grape arbor that was donated by Bob Fraley in memory of Louise Fraley. It is a nice place to sit and rest and watch the birds and butterflies.
The Butterfly Garden is under the supervision of Elizabeth Young, who has dedicated many hours to weeding and maintaining the garden along with volunteers.
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
David Sitz and Tom Longbrake designed and constructed the Cactus Garden in 1998. Tom Longbrake, who is a retired vegetable specialist with the Texas A&M Extension Service, donated 150 varieties of cacti for the garden. Acquiring and raising cacti are Tom's hobby, and he has cacti from all over the world. A couple of months after they planted the garden it suffered a hard freeze and a number of the cacti died. There are plans to replace the cacti that died.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Landscaper Myrna Mayo designed and constructed the Hummingbird Garden with the objective of attracting birds and butterflies. She chose plants especially attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies, and the plants have flourished since 1998. She maintained the garden until 2005, when Dr. Tillman Daniel took over supervision of the garden.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Rose Garden was designed by Doris Watkins and constructed by Quentin and Doris Watkins. The Antique Rose Emporium in Independence , Texas donated 13 antique roses for the garden.
The Rose Garden focuses on antique rose varieties that date back to 1752, but also features new roses that have the hardy characteristics of old roses. The roses selected for the garden are those that thrive in hot, humid weather. Combining the rose garden with a Nature Center is an on-going challenge, as the deer love our roses as much as we do.
The Garden includes an arbor and two pillars that feature antique rose climbers. Future plans include adding heirloom plants that combine well with roses.
The Garden is a collection of over 35 varieties of garden roses and is still growing. Here are some of the selections found in the Garden:
Chinas: Old Blush (1752) Pink; Archduke Charles (1837) Red; Napoleon (1835) Pink
Teas: Mrs. B.R. Cant (1901) Pink; Isabella Sprunt (1855) Yellow
Polyanthus: The Fairy (1932 Pink; Marie Pavie (1888) White; Cecile Brunner (1881) Pink
Bourbons: Madame Ernest Calvat (1888) Pink
Climbers: New Dawn (1930) Pink; Red Cascade (1976) Miniature red climber
Found Roses: Caldwell Pink (Found Polyanthus) Pink
Introductions: Belinda's Dream (1992) Pink; Knock Out (2000) Floribunda Red & Pink
Presently the Garden is being maintained by Joy Hairston, Faith Bickley and Carolyn Stracik. Faith is an active member of the Texas Rose Rustler Society.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Herb Garden was the special project of Doris and Quentin Watkins. Doris designed the garden to include many varieties of herbs, and it is laid out in a 4 quadrant circle. Sam Maglitto donated a stone flower basket for the middle of the circle. The garden is very fragrant and pretty. Recently, Julianne Thompson took over supervision of the garden along with the assistance of Jack Higgins. She has changed the design to include half herbs and half native Texas plants.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Fred Walker and David Sitz are responsible for the construction and maintenance of the Palm Garden. David Sitz and Lamar Evans donated the palms. Most of the palms are Texas Sabal, which is the only native palm of Texas. It can survive in temperatures above 5 degrees and grew up and down the Texas coast. There are several varieties of palms in the garden, i.e. Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis); California Fam Palm (Washingtonia filifera); Mexican Fan Palm (Washington robusta); Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis); Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus Fortunei)and Pindo Palm (Butia capitata).
The Palm Garden also has several species of non-invasive bamboo i.e. Weaver's Bamboo (Bambusa textiles); Oldham's Bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii); Buddha's Belly (Bambusa Ventricosa) .
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|