CLIO GARDEN

This ornamental garden was laid out in 1927-28, while the house was under construction. Miss Hogg first planted it with roses and perennial flowers, keeping careful records of the various plants that failed and thrived.

The plants seen in the rectangular bed, white Indicia azaleas, bloom only in the spring. Blue pansies decorate the garden in January through April, and the wisteria blossoms in March and April. To provide color and drama during the summer and fall, Bayou Bend's garden staff recently reintroduced roses to the circular beds. Note how the boxwood hedges emphasize the geometry of the beds. Miss Hogg added the small dome-shaped yaupon bushes in 1966.

In Greek Mythology, the muse Clio was one of the nine sister-goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. As muse of history, she embodies Miss Hogg's passion for the past. The statue is one of three graceful female figures that adorn Bayou Bend's gardens. Euterpe, muse of music, sits opposite Clio, and Diana, goddess of hunt, is the focal point of the gardens to the north of the house.

WOODLAND TRAILS

The marshy creek known as Buffalo Bayou winds lazily around two sides of Bayou Bend, giving the estate its romantic name. Fed by the bayou waters, the lot supports a diverse array of indigenous plant species.

The native trees and shrubs form a spectacular backdrop to the formal gardens, but they also offer their own beauty. Some of the loveliest wooded areas on both sides of the driveway, near the ravines to the southeast of the house, and along the woodland trails behind the Euterpe and Diana Gardens. Flowering dogwood in can be seen in March and April, and magnolia in May and June. And, in a city famed for its flatness, the estate's dramatic sloping topography is a rare treat.

The canopy of tall trees, such as pines elm, and oak, and the under-story of flowering dogwood and redbud are native to the bayou environment, but these plants actually represent the secondary forest growth. The original hardwoods were logged for export in the mid-nineteenth century.

Buffalo Bayou does experience flooding in the area of Bayou Bend, and in severe storms its waters have reached the gardens and even the house. Bayou Bend has also been visited by hurricanes, which have damaged the landscape. Consequently, the ravines are stabilized with monkey grass in some places and recycled concrete in others, to help prevent erosion and soil loss. Today, as in Miss Hogg's time, the native plants are protected, cared for, supplemented, and replaced as necessary.

DIANA GARDEN

Miss Hogg's elegant integration of house and garden can be most fully appreciated in the Diana Garden. She created an outdoor "room" defined by walls of evergreen yaupon hedges that separate the garden from the natural woodlands beyond. Reminiscent of Italian Renaissance gardens, the Diana Garden is a model of classical simplicity.

The evergreen hedges in the garden are highlighted by seasonal color from pink-flowering plants that pick up the color of the house. In February magnolias are in bloom, in March and April azaleas appear, and crepe myrtles bloom in June and July. The distinctive columnar trees behind the statue are Japanese yews.

Framed by the native bayou woodlands, the Diana Garden provides a magnificent vista from the north terrace of the house. The pink flagstones that pave the terrace floor were removed from the sidewalks of downtown Houston when they were being "modernized" with concrete in 1927-28, and a more recent use of salvaged materials can be seen in the gracious walkway along the west side of the terrace that was created in 1968 using antique pink brick from a demolished building.

EUTERPE GARDEN

Although it forms a visual balance to the Clio Garden, the less formal Euterpe Garden is a much looser interpretation of the garden room.

Euterpe, the muse of music, represents one of Miss Hogg's greatest loves. The precise location for the statue was chosen because of two superb trees, a loblolly pine and an American sycamore, that predate the house and still stand. Euterpe sits in front of columns of Japanese yew, shaded by overhanging branches of pine and oak. At the base of the statue is maidenhair fern flanked by George Tabor azaleas and taller banks of Formosa and Judge Solomon azaleas. Redbuds, pink oriental magnolias, and purple Mexican plum trees are planted nearby. The redbuds bloom in February and March, the azaleas in March and April, and the magnolias in May and June.

Hurricane Carla destroyed many of the trees in this garden when it struck Houston in 1961. Several other trees fell during Hurricane Alicia in 1983, forming a triangle around Euterpe, but the statue somehow escaped damage.

CARLA GARDEN

In 1961, Hurricane Carla wreaked havoc on Houston, and the gardens at Bayou Bend did not escape the devastation. Miss Hogg, however, saw opportunity in disaster and established this charming garden in a clearing created by Carla's violent winds.

The plan was inspired by Miss Hogg's acquisition of an antique carousel seat in the form of a peacock. Although the brightly colored peacock was too delicate to remain outdoors, echoes of the carnival theme can be seen in the design of this garden. The circular brick terrace with its boxwood borders mimics the shape of a carousel, while the concentric circles of multicolored azaleas are appropriately vivid and cheerful. The garden originally included a large tree that was destroyed by another hurricane, Alicia, in 1983. The brick terrace and retaining wall help control erosion problems created by the hurricanes.

In spring, the Kurume azaleas bloom in colors ranging from pale pink to deep red. A camellia blossoms on the south side in December and January, and a two-winged silverbell tree blooms in March. Angel-wing begonias -- one of Miss Hogg's favorite plants -- fill the urns.

EAST GARDEN

Miss Hogg conceived of the East Garden as an outdoor room that extended the east facade of the house into the landscape. A long hedge shields the garden from the entry drive and the woodland beyond. The focal point of the garden, a raised terrace with a small octagonal pool, is framed by a semicircular hedge and a wrought iron fence. The fence incorporates a lyre motif, a classical detail that symbolizes Miss Hogg's love of music.

The azaleas and camellias growing here were among the first to be introduced into Houston. Banks of azaleas are arranged in rows in front of the hedge walls, their colors moving from pale to deep pink. Duchesse de Caze pink camellias, an ancient and now rare variety acquired from Avery Island in Louisiana, are planted on the outside of the hedges. There are flowering pansies in January through April, camellias in February and March, and azaleas in March and April.

In 1968 the long narrow beds in the center of the garden were changed from flowering annuals to Japanese boxwoods, which are clipped in a scroll design that mimics the wrought iron panels on the adjacent East Terrace. While she lived at Bayou Bend, Miss Hogg decorated the covered terrace with pots and hanging baskets, further integrating house and garden.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

This delightful butterfly garden is set in a forested area of the lot. Miss Hogg first planted it with purple and yellow pansies, but after a few years she replaced those flowers with boxwood borders and a bright palette of dwarf evergreen azaleas.

In the spring, three shades of these azaleas create a brief but spectacular burst of color on the butterfly's wings. The bands of graduated red and pink flowers are composed of four varieties of Kurume hybrids: Christmas Cheer, Coral Bell, Hexe, and Hino-de-giri. Introduced to the United States in 1915, these unusual Japanese azaleas were restricted from import in 1928 and remain rare in this country.

The Butterfly Garden is lighthearted in design, but the craftsmanship of the brickwork and the careful symmetry of the setting are worth noting. The small lead cupid is flanked by two garden urns, while on each side of the butterfly a matched pair of winter-blooming camellias frame two garden benches.

WHITE GARDEN

Located deep within the woods and surrounded by ravines, the White Garden is the quietest and most private garden at Bayou Bend. It is also the garden that most consistently features blooming plants. There are spireas and camellias in February; tulips, narcissus, iris, and dogwood in March; mock orange in April; gardenias, antique roses, and calla lilies in May; viburnums and daylilies in June and July; and a rich and diverse array of other blooms throughout the year.

The White Garden was a favorite retreat for Alvin Wheeler, Miss Hogg's gardener for thirty years. In 1971 she dedicated the area to his memory, installing a plaque, two bronze deer, and a bench. This is an ideal place to sit, contemplate, and enjoy the garden.