RSS
Home
Phoenix's Desert Botanical Garden: A photo tour
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ, is home
to more than 20,000 desert plants from around the
world.
Having grown up on the East Coast and lived most of my life here or in Northern California, my experience with deserts was largely limited to the reruns I watched as a kid--Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Wild, Wild West. As a result of such limited exposure, I was pretty sure that deserts consisted largely of dust, large rocks and tumbleweeds. So my expectations for the Desert Botanical Garden were fairly low.
In fact, the Desert Botanical Garden, located in Phoenix, Arizona, is one of the most amazing and unusual public gardens I have ever visited. There were an abundance of death-defying flowers blooming. Cacti towered into the hot sky and were home to an abundance of hearty birds. Other plants sprawled and crawled and twisted and climbed in sculptural feats of nature. There was an amazing amount of color.
The Desert Botanical Garden is home to more than 20,000 desert plants from around the world, including 139 rare, threatened and endangered plant species. They are displayed on five themed trails and outdoor exhibits on the sprawling 50 acres in the Papago Park.
If you visit late in the day and remain until dark, you can see the desert come alive with night-blooming flowers. Each spring, the garden hosts a butterfly pavillion you can walk through to see butterflies and moths among the flowers.
You can take a virtual tour with the slide show below.
Location and Contact Information
Address: 1201 North Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85008
Phone: 480.941.1225
Website: Desert Botanical Garden
Admission
Adults: $15
Seniors: $13.50
Students (Ages 13 - 18 or with college ID): $7.50
Children (Ages 3 - 12): $5
Children (Under age 3): Free
Hours
Open daily (except July 4, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day)
October through April: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
May through September: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Visiting
Visitors are recommended to visit early in the morning or late in the day/early evening during the hottest months of the year. Wear study walking shoes and a sun hat. Sunscreen and bottled water should also be part of your travel kit.
An outdoor cafe is available for snacks and meals. The garden's gift shop has an extensive collection of cards, books, gift items and cactus plants.
You might also enjoy these:
You for reading! You can reach me at gardeningexaminer@gmail.com and can follow me on Twitter at @RobinRipley.
Did you also know I write about fresh foods? You can read my food columns at the D.C. Fresh Foods Examiner.
Click SUBSCRIBE below to receive notifications of new National Gardening Examiner columns.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
