Hi, I lived in Houston for 8 yrs and was glad to excape to Olympia WA. I don't recall any outstanding gardens. But I would recomend the Kema waterfront area on clear lake sout east of NASA as a good place for resturants with patios on the water.

Thanks! I'm also visiting Houston in July - good to know about those waterfront restaurants. From looking at the web re Houston, it looks like the city does shut down for the summer meltdown. I'm going to see "The Gondoliers" - a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta - seemingly the ONLY thing happening there that is not sports-related in mid-July.

This is a little late but Mercer Arboretum in Harris County a little north of the city of Houston is very nice.

Checking in a year later!

I did visit Houston and was surprised (I don't know why - it makes sense) to find local plantings almost identical to those in my part of Florida (large west coast peninsula - Pinellas County).

My hostess wasn't crazy for gardens, but I did drag her to visit the "Beer Can House" and stroll that neighborhood where I filched a few seed pods from a vine on a fence ... it has grown for me and has turned out to be a scarlet runner bean ... new to me.

We were enchanted with the nursery that features large playful topiaries lining the roadway medium nearby - but couldn't stop to investigate.

And next time I will get to the gulf or a lake!

I can't believe no one mentioned Bayou Bend, one of the tops in the country and right in Houston. Check out their website--way too much to describe here.