Centennial Gardens


McGovern Centennial Gardens is a new public garden in the heart of Hermann Park. The public-private project is the culmination of Hermann Park Conservancy’s 20-year redevelopment, following the 1995 park master plan, and it reinvents the Houston Garden Center, an integral part of the park since the 1920’s. White Oak Studio led a multi-disciplinary team for this complex public space. Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects of Chicago, IL was design landscape architect. Bohlin, Cywinski Jackson Architects designed two buildings for the site. Infrastructure Associates provided Civil, Structural and Electrical engineering services; James Pole Associates was irrigation designer and William Welch, Ph.D. was horticulture consultant. Centennial Gardens includes a series of pleasure gardens arranged around a grand central lawn and dramatic ‘garden mount’. An Arid Garden, Woodland Walk, Celebration Garden, Family Garden, Rose Garden and Pine Hill Walk delight visitors with a variety of garden experiences.