Miss Hogg adorned Bayou Bend with three graceful female figures that represent some of her lifelong passions. Acquired in Italy in the 1930s, the marble statues of Clio, Diana, and Euterpe preside over another of Miss Hogg's abiding interests, her glorious gardens.

In 1927, when Miss Hogg began planning Bayou Bend's gardens, the lot was still a dense thicket, and construction on the house had yet to begin. With boundless energy, patience, and creativity, she developed an exquisite series of formal gardens set against the wild grandeur of the bayou woodlands. Although she worked with professional landscape architects, Miss Hogg's own sense of design and color prevailed. The gardens still reflect her favorite colors of pink, lilac, and blue.

Miss Hogg created most of Bayou Bend's gardens between 1934 and 1942. Undaunted by Houston's sweltering climate and alkaline soil, she searched the country for plants that would thrive at Bayou Bend. Although the formal and woodland gardens contain a myriad of native and imported plants, it is the azaleas and camellias that dominate. Miss Hogg is often credited with popularizing these plants, which soon become staples in Houston gardens.

In 1961 Miss Hogg invited the River Oaks Garden Club to assume permanent management of the gardens. Through the club's generosity and expertise, the beautiful gardens at Bayou Bend remain the living embodiment of Miss Hogg's magnificent legacy.

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