Field notes · Mercer Botanic Gardens

Two visits, plenty to talk about

Our first visit to Mercer Botanic Gardens started with a little outreach and turned into a really nice afternoon.

Efrain Ruiz · With Kelly Trotman
Published October 25, 2026

Boardwalk across the garden pond — A bend in the boardwalk brings the pond, the trees, and their reflections into the same view.

Kelly and I went on October 17, hoping to introduce Texas Hog Dispatch and share some information. The office staff we needed weren’t available that weekend, but we met a volunteer with the Master Gardeners, who work with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

She told us about their programs and the work they do. From there, we started talking about our business, our research, and what we’re trying to accomplish. She thought it was a lovely idea and took some of our one-pagers to share with her group. Another visitor asked about eating wild hogs, which led to a conversation about the precautions involved.

Then Kelly and I wandered through the gardens. We took pictures along the paths, stopped by the fountains, and caught a little rainbow in the spray over the pond. There was plenty to look at, and we weren’t in any hurry.

Fountain spray over a pond with a small rainbow — A little rainbow in the fountain spray during our first visit. Kelly and I had plenty of reasons to keep stopping.

Our second visit wasn’t planned much further ahead than lunch. We’d gone out for pho and decided to stop by Mercer again. This time, we walked into a plant event, with tables full of plants and people making their way around with wagons.

We met different people from the Master Gardeners and shared what we were doing. They accepted our one-pagers too, and one woman wanted to discuss the work with her colleagues. We also had a chance to speak with someone in the office.

Efrain Ruiz and Kelly Trotman together in yellow and black shirts — Kelly and me on our return visit, somewhere between talking with people and looking at more plants.

Between the conversations, we explored and took more photographs: the boardwalk across the pond, turtles lined up on a log, plants for sale, and little corners of the gardens worth stopping for. Kelly came away with wildflower seeds.

Eventually, the bright sun reminded us that we hadn’t brought sunscreen. We called it after about an hour, with more photos and more people to follow up with.

The photographs here come from both visits. Some show the busier side of Mercer, and others show why we were happy to spend a little longer walking around.

Plant sale with wagons and people — We stopped by after lunch and found a plant event. Our quick visit lasted a little longer than planned.

Turtles resting on a pond log — Everybody found room on the same log. We stopped for a picture before continuing around the gardens.

Orange butterfly visiting purple flowers — An orange butterfly settles among purple flowers—one of the smaller details worth stopping for.

Photo gallery

Every photograph we kept from Mercer Botanic Gardens, in one place.

Open all 20 Mercer Botanic Gardens photos

A collection from our visits to Mercer, from the plant event to quieter corners of the gardens. Photos by Texas Hog Dispatch. Open any image for the full-size photograph.

Plant displays beside a red-leafed tree — A red-leafed tree stands above rows of plants, each with a label worth stopping to read.

Garden pond fountain and bridge — A fountain rises beyond the low bridge, framed by branches and reflections on the pond.

Plants under a white shade canopy — Beneath the white canopy, flower photos and plant labels offer a preview of what these pots could become.

Beehives behind a wooden fence with a bee warning sign — Beehive boxes sit behind a wooden fence, with flowers in front and a clear reminder to give the bees space.

Labeled plants and a blue canopy — Rows of labeled plants made a short walk through the sale a slow one.

Efrain Ruiz in an orange cap and shirt with Kelly Trotman under trees — Kelly and me finding a little shade—and fitting one more photo into the day.

Garden path curving into shade under overhanging branches — The path slips out of the sunlight and around a shaded bend, with branches hanging overhead.

Sandy trail between tall tree trunks — Tall trunks line a sandy stretch of trail, with patches of sunlight reaching through the canopy.

Large turtle sculpture in the garden — This turtle held still for the camera. The oversized garden sculpture has a little more personality than most.

Aloe plant beside a plant label — Sunlit, toothed leaves surround a label identifying torch aloe, Aloe arborescens.

Succulent garden with rocks and an upright wooden boat — Spiky leaves, scattered rocks, and an upright wooden boat give this part of the garden a different character.

Tiered stone fountain against a blue sky — Water spills from one stone bowl to the next, with individual droplets caught against the blue sky.

Statue with a plaque among plants and a pumpkin — A statue honoring Thelma Loraine Mercer stands among the plants, with a pumpkin adding a seasonal touch.

Sundial where brick paths meet, surrounded by flower beds — A sundial sits at the meeting of the brick paths, surrounded by low flower beds.

Follow the question

The forest you don’t see yet

A garden visit can lead to a question that reaches beyond the garden: which young plants will become the next forest?

In a separate Big Thicket National Preserve experiment published in 2009, Siemann and colleagues followed sixteen plots for seven years, with eight fenced to exclude hogs. Woody understory diversity increased inside the exclusions, while Chinese tallow was more than twice as abundant where hogs remained. The study suggests that hogs can affect the plants that make up a future forest. It does not establish current conditions at Mercer or across Big Thicket.

Read the full forest story

About this evidence

Lance Rosier Unit, Big Thicket National Preserve; historical experiment at one site. Fencing may also have affected other animals. Mercer photos illustrate our visit, not the study plots or measured hog damage.

Siemann et al. (2009), Forest Ecology and Management 258: 546–553 (PDF, new tab)

DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.03.056

Explore the Hardin County evidence Inside the Wild Hog: feeding & rooting