Spread over 33 acres, the Botanical Garden offers condensed versions of the diverse landscapes of Texas. You enter this tranquil, green kingdom through the Sullivan Carriage House, built in 1896, part of the estate of local banker Daniel J. Sullivan, whose loans to ranchers helped finance the legendary cattle drives. The Carriage House was disassembled using skilled stone masons who meticulously cleaned and numbered each block for reassembly at the Botanical Garden in 1988.

One of the first areas you encounter is the Garden for the Blind, which features a tactile map of the garden, plants and ceramic tablets with Braille-marked names and descriptions, all easily accessible along railed walkways. Sculptures are interspersed throughout at easy-reach level -- a giant snail, a life-sized armadillo, a doll-sized "Sleeping Beauty Castle" -- all a treat for fingers or eyes.

The Japanese Garden is a gift from San Antonio's sister city, Kumamoto, Japan, and features a serene pond with footbridge, an "azmaya" (a Japanese roofed gazebo-like structure) and the delicate, aesthetically-placed plants of an oriental garden. Next to catch your eye is the futuristic-looking Lucile Halsell Conservatory, composed of a series of glass, pyramid-like greenhouses and containing a range of diverse environments. Immense cacti, tropical bromeliads and timberline alpine flora each inhabit their own climate-controlled spaces just steps away from each other. A "touch and feel" table invites you to get up close and personal with cork oak, palm buds, pinecones and more.

Some of the other features include an old-fashioned arboretum, rose garden and a garden specializing in plants mentioned in the Bible. There is a picturesque outdoor classroom theater for educational and special events and a replica of an acequia, the system of stone conduits that helped supply irrigation water to the early missions. There is also a garden area planted and maintained by local children and large areas replicating natural settings in the Texas Hill Country, the plains of Southwest Texas and the East Texas Piney Woods--- three very distinct regions. (Look for the Wood Duck box in East Texas and native Texas cabins throughout.)

The gardens are open daily year round with current hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $1 for children (3 to 13 years) and $2 for seniors, students and military. Pets are not allowed. Other attractions on site include the Carriage House Kitchen, open Tues.-Sun., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Garden Gate Gift Shop, open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The San Antonio Botanical Garden is located at 555 Funston, off N. New Braunfels, adjacent to Fort Sam Houston, and offers a unique escape into a natural wonderland of plants, where you are invited to "listen to the quiet".