Have you ever visited Discovery Green on a lovely spring day and wondered how the flowers bloom so vibrantly all year long? The answer is one Brian Wilmer, the park’s horticulturist since its inception in 2008. Interestingly, his true superpower doesn’t just lie in his extensive plant knowledge. Wilmer is color-blind, which equips him with a keen eye for texture and shape, allowing him to perceive changes in the plants that others might overlook.

Wilmer started his role at Discovery Green after working as a landscape designer for more than a decade, focused on revitalizing Houston’s public parks. He assessed the health of trees, diagnosed ailing gardens, and championed the cause of urban green spaces. He did landscape work for the City Hall Annex, Tranquility Park, Sam Houston Park, the Japanese Garden at Hermann Park, and several libraries. It was this experience and his passion for plants that made him the perfect candidate to shepherd Discovery Green from its blueprint to the flourishing downtown park it is today.

When Wilmer first arrived at Discovery Green, it was a blank canvas—a vast expanse of dirt and potential. He has transformed the 12-acre area into an oasis of more than 380 trees and countless varieties of plants, each chosen to thrive in Houston’s ever-changing climate.

“Before we were built, this was all surface parking lots; so, we’ve added oxygen to downtown with the grass and the trees,” Wilmer says. “Everything in the park is unnatural, but we’ve worked very hard to make it look natural.”

Wilmer’s color blindness, rather than hindering his ability to care for the park, enhances his attention to detail and his understanding of the plants’ needs. When selecting what to grow, Wilmer isn’t swayed by the allure of a particular flower’s hue; instead, he focuses on a plant’s suitability for Houston’s climate and its ability to thrive in the specific microcosm it occupies within the park. He understands how sun exposure varies across Discovery Green, how pockets of soil retain moisture differently, and how certain plants can act as natural indicators for potential problems.

Similarly, while others may rely on vibrant colors to gauge the health and vitality of the greenery, he relies on subtler cues. For him, it’s all about texture, contrast, and shape. He can discern the slightest changes, providing valuable insights into the plants’ condition.

“I have a really hard time seeing the color brown; it looks green,” Wilmer explains. “Nature never takes anything away without giving you something in return. I have really great night vision, so I’m great at seeing textures. A lot of times when plants turn brown they also wilt. So, I’m very sensitive to the difference in leaf shapes.”

Wilmer has had deuteranomaly, the most common kind of color blindness that affects the perception of green and red hues, since birth and he has never seen the world any differently.

He focuses on the minuscule variations in shades of green, which allows him to spot signs of stress or disease in plants before they become readily apparent to others. If anything, Wilmer asserts that the most difficult part of the job is communicating what he sees to others.

“The hardest part is describing things because people will be like, ‘Tell me about this plant on the edge of the lake.’ And I’ll be like, ‘It’s got these beautiful gray leaves and green flowers.’ Come to find out they’re vivid green and blue,” Wilmer says with a laugh.

He also believes his color blindness makes the results different from other parks, allowing him to give Discovery Green a unique look.

“The texture of the garden, the shapes of the leaves, and the way they’re laid out is more important to me and carries more weight than the color of the plants,” Wilmer says. “If you saw the gardens that I do at night, for instance, they would have more of a dramatic look than some others.”

Wilmer says that his story is a reminder that sometimes the most unexpected limitations can become the greatest strengths, and that with dedication and a unique perspective, even a blank canvas of dirt can be transformed into a flourishing urban oasis.

“If you do have a handicap like I have and you put your mind to it, you can overcome just about anything.” Wilmer says. “It’s not a barrier if you don’t let it be.”