NPSOT News Summer 2013 31 | Page 7

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