One of a kind for South Texas
Colleen Schreiber
Tucked away in a place not typically advertised to the
public is the A.E. Leonard Native Plant Garden, a one-ofa-kind South Texas gem. It’s unique in that it is the only
place where one can find so many plant species native to
South Texas in one spot - and by a lot. Some of the plants
found here would even be very difficult to see in the wild
in South Texas, and perhaps impossible to see in a garden.
“There’s no place like it,” insists Dr. Fred Bryant,
Director of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research
Institute (CKWRI). “We have some fairly rare plants
in our garden, some that might not persist outside of
cultivation 20 years from now.”
Currently the garden features over 350 species of
plants native to the area from Del Rio across to San
Antonio and Victoria and extending down to the Rio
Grande Valley. They are representative of the mesquite
savannah, South Texas brush, sand sheet, live oak motte,
bordas escarpment, South Texas prairies and riparian
zones. Many of the plants were acquired from South
Texas ranches and in several cases landowners donated
truckloads of dirt and rock used to create the habitats for
these niche dependent species.
A garden for plant geeks, it has three quarters of the
cactus and succulent species found in South Texas,
including the four Manfredas, or False Aloes, found
nowhere else in the United States except South Texas.
The native plant garden was Bryant’s idea. It wasn’t in
the original plans; rather, it more or less just happened.
In 2004 Bryant and his advisory board raised the money
to build a multi-use events building for Texas A&M
University-Kingsville and the Institute. Once completed,
he decided some landscaping was needed and the idea of
a garden behind the patio came to mind and the Leonard
family of San Antonio stepped up to help with much of
the cost.
The garden was designed and established by David
Mahler and his design partner Judy Walther. Their
Photo opposite by David Mahler
company, Environmental Survey Consulting, based in
Austin, specializes in native plant communities with
a focus on habitat restoration and native landscaping.
Mahler and Walther started landscaping with native
plants 20 years ago, long before it was “vogue” to do so.
Mahler, who is the lead designer on the project, describes
himself as a “frog and turtle kid” and a kid of nature. He
developed a love of plants early in his adult career while
working as the natur