If you've ever looked beneath a magnolia tree, you'll notice that grass does not grow under its canopy. The roots acidify the ground as protection from invasive species, a survival technique that safeguards its real estate.

If only trees could talk.

The mysteries of the botanical world are plenty, and this summer Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, the home to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston's decorative arts collection, is having fun with riddles courtesy of an education program that curiously-minded children — and any kids at heart — will love.

Detective Days is a series of self-guided escapades where sleuths-in-training receive a clipboard, an investigator kit and a magnifying glass, and are sent on a wild chase searching for clues that uncover something intriguing about plant life, the species or the native landscape around the former Ima Hogg estate and inside the art and the museum's collection.

"When you step in here you feel like you've left the city," Joey Milillo, program director, says. "But what you are really doing is you are stepping back into the past and seeing some of the tree species that have been native to the Houston area for hundreds of years. We have a diverse collection of native trees here."

A meander through the open meadows, formal gardens, shaded pathways, log bridges atop streams and waterfalls, and secluded pathways leads to Southern magnolias, loblolly pines, a stunning American sycamore, many water oaks, white oaks and a prehistoric tree, the Ginkgo biloba, otherwise known as the maidenhair fern.

There are many scavenger hunts this summer. In June, "The Case of the Missing Trees" curriculum is suitable for children ages 6 and up, and examines trees somewhat hidden from the main areas of the formal gardens.

Recommended for kids ages 10 and up is "On the Trail of the Evolving Plant," a tour that follows life development from lichens to flowering angiosperms.

In July, "Mysterious Messages" for ages 6 and up explores how to interpret the statues on Bayou Bend's grounds, and "The Architect's Evidence" for ages 10 and up surveys ways in which homes are designed and built.

In August, the adventure moves indoors with "By the Numbers," a tour that parses the collection with the solving numerical clues. It's fitting for ages 10 and up.

And kids love Detective Days, evidence in this CultureMap Art & About video during which I chase after two girls and two boys on a quest for truth. They were into it, and so was I.

May I suggest a grown-up version of the scavenger hunt with martini stations set up along the trek?

The Summer Detective Days Program at Bayou Bend Collection & Gardens is available 10 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $5, children 12 and under participate free. No reservations are necessary. Check in at the Lora Jean Kilroy Visitor and Education Center.