It’s hard to remember that 10 years ago, this was just a vacant lot. The Pionette Garden Club Landscape Garden was once the site of a retail building that was burned to the ground. The lot at Houston and Oak streets, in the Main Street District, was donated to the city in 2012. Through a partnership with the Texas Department of Agriculture, the Texas Water Smart Foundation, the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association and Palestine Economic Development Corporation, this spot was adopted by the Pionette Garden Club in 2017 and turned into a water-smart garden park to help beautify downtown.
The garden project was funded in part by an $8,000 grant from the Texas Department of Agriculture. The agriculture department, the Texas Water Smart Foundation and the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association awarded city certification to Palestine as a TDA Certified Retirement Community.