Boyce Thompson Arboretum holds collections of desert plants from around the world.
The collections include plants from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Madagascar, India, China, Japan, Israel, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Arabian Peninsula—all told 3,900 taxa and 19,000 plants within 135 acres of gardens. We highlight twelve of our gardens and exhibits below. To learn more about the Wallace Desert Garden, please click here.
Click to view each garden
Australian Deserts Exhibit
The Australian Exhibit, the largest at BTA, stretches over approximately 10 acres of sprawling woodland and encompasses 1,280 plantings, many of which date from the mid-1920s. The exhibit includes the largest and most diverse stand of eucalyptus trees in North America. Our eucalyptus collection holds 93 taxa and was nationally accredited in 2018.
Cactus & Succulents Garden
Just below the majestic Magma Ridge lies the Cactus and Succulents Garden, a collection of common, rare and endangered succulents from deserts throughout North and South America. The exhibit includes numerous hedgehog, prickly pear, and columnar cacti, which sport gorgeous blooms in spring and summer.
Taylor Family Desert Legume Garden
In collaboration with the Desert Legume Program at The University of Arizona, the Taylor Family Desert Legume Garden serves to illustrate the diversity and usefulness of legumes from deserts around the world. In fact, many common trees of the Sonoran desert are legumes, like the mesquite, palo verde, and ironwood.
Chihuahuan Desert Exhibit
The largest desert in North America is well represented in this collection of agaves, yuccas, mescal bean trees, and ever-bearing prickly pear cacti, a favorite of javelina. Predominantly a shrub desert, the Chihuahuan Desert differs from the Sonoran Desert in that it has much colder winters and wetter monsoons.
The Chihuahuan Desert is considered the most diverse desert in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most diverse arid regions in the world. Unfortunately, because of human activities and the overcollection of native plants and animals, it is also one of the most endangered regions in the world.
Children’s Garden
With three sensory gardens, a human sundial, and a maze, the Children’s Garden offers children and the young at heart a unique environment filled with hidden treasures.
At the heart of the Children’s Garden is the Gloria Wing-Ong Children’s Learning Center.
This ‘outdoor classroom with a view’ is named in honor of Gloria Wing-Ong, a teacher who inspired her students to discover the joy of learning. Today her legacy continues with educational programs offered year-round for children and adults.
Demonstration Garden
The Demonstration Garden features a number of beautifully landscaped and water-efficient small gardens. Built to illustrate how native and drought-tolerant plants can create lovely gardens in residential and commercial settings, the gardens showcase decorative hardscape, sitting areas and water features. A favorite of visitors!
Heritage Rose Garden
This garden, adjacent to the 1920s-era Smith Building, features heirloom or antique roses, varieties dominant during the 19th and early 20th centuries. These particular roses, by design, use less water and fertilizer, require little pruning, and are less likely to be threatened by fungus in comparison to their hybrid cousins.
Rodica Heinz Pollinator Garden
The Pollinator Garden displays a variety of seasonal plants that attract and nurture the pollinators so important to the health of our ecosystems—butterflies, bees and birds. Species include flowering trees and shrubs, and native perennials like coreopsis and blanket flower.
Sonoran Desert Exhibit & Curandero Trail
Distinguishing the Sonoran Desert, home to Boyce Thompson Arboretum, are its columnar cacti, like the saguaro, and its mild winters. It is lush in comparison to most other deserts and supports a rich spectrum of some 2,000 species of plants. This exhibit features plants native to the Sonoran Desert such as the creosote, jojoba, ocotillo, sotol, and of course, saguaro and other forms of cacti. The Curandero Trail highlights a wide array of wild medicinal plants found in the Sonoran Desert. The trail is named for traditional healers in Mesoamerican culture.
South American Deserts Exhibit
The South American Exhibit highlights plant communities within the Gran Chaco and the Monte Desert that are located approximately the same distance south of the equator as the Sonoran Desert is north of the equator. Though a hemisphere away from each other, these deserts share similar looking species of columnar cacti and other plants. The entrance features a “quincho,” a South American thatched hut, for shade.
Wallace Rose Garden
Originally part of the Wallace Desert Gardens, this collection comprises well over 100 ornamental hybrid tea and floribunda roses. Mrs. H.B. Wallace was very fond of roses and the extensive varieties available; H.B. Wallace amassed this large collection for her. The collection is located at the entrance to the Wallace Desert Garden.
Wing Memorial Herb Garden
The Wing Memorial Herb Garden contains many low-water use native and southern European herbs that thrive in the Sonoran Desert, such as thyme, oregano, dill, rosemary, lamb’s ear, comfrey and chamomile, along with many other herbs used in the culinary arts, medicinal healing, cosmetics and insect repellants.
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Don`t forget to bring your dogs to the Arboretum this Saturday for Tails & Trails!
Adventure meets wagging tails for this fun-filled day at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Activities include:
- Dog adoptions with @pinalcountyanimalcontrol and @barbsdogrescue
- Docent lead dog hikes
- Pet-related vendors
- Food/Beverage Trucks
- Puppy Yoga (Pre-registration Required)
- Dog training workshop (Pre-registration Required)
Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026
Time: 10 am - 3 pm
Tails & Trails is free with admission! With additional items and activities available for purchase. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
Special thanks to our event sponsor @evurgentpet
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Happy #NationalBirdDay!
Pictured is a Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) found in the Canyon Region of Boyce Thompson Arboretum. A winter visitor of the Arboretum, the Spotted Towhee prefers dense brush and can most often be sighted foraging through leaf litter on the ground.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum provides important habitats and resources to over 200 species of birds. Visit and experience this spectacular birding opportunity. Get tickets at the link in bio.
#birding #btarboretum #boycethompsonarboretum #superiorarizona
These last few months, the coati at Boyce Thompson Arboretum have been getting more adventurous and exploring new areas of the Arboretum.
Visit Boyce Thompson Arboretum and see if you can spot the coatis. Get tickets at the link in bio.
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Then & Now: Ayer Lake at Boyce Thompson Arboretum
On top is an image of Ayer Lake from 1926. Ayer Lake was constructed in 1925 as a reservoir for the Arboretum. Today, the lake is a home to native plant and animal species that rely on riparian areas.
Take a walk through history and experience the beauty of the Arboretum for yourself. Get tickets at the link in bio.
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There`s only one month left to experience the beauty of Glass in Flight at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
Through January, explore larger than-life glass and steel sculptures of butterflies, dragonflies, ants, bees, and other pollinators. Made by artist Alex Heveri from hand-cut Dalle de Verre glass, the works glow in the sun and blend naturally into the Arboretum’s gardens, highlighting the beauty and importance of pollinators.
The exhibition continues after dark for Glass in Flight at Night. These sculptures are illuminated against the desert night. Visitors have a rare chance to enjoy the Arboretum through golden hour, sunset, and evening, when both the artwork and the landscape take on new dimensions.
@glassinflight is on display during normal operating hours through January 31st. Glass in Flight at Night evening hours are Fridays-Sundays, 5 pm - 8 pm, through January 31st. The exhibit is included with regular admission.
Come see Glass in Flight before it`s gone. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
#btarboretum #boycethompsonarboretum #superiorarizona #glassinflight
Happy New Year!
We’re open today, 8 AM–5 PM (last admission 4 PM).
Start 2026 surrounded by nature. Get tickets at the link in bio.
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Make a trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum part of your 2026 bucket list.
Plan your visit at the link in bio.
#btarboretum #boycethompsonarboretum #superiorarizona #coati
Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a cherished place for so many, each with their own connection to its beauty and purpose. As 2025 comes to a close, we’re reflecting on all we’ve accomplished together. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we are thrilled to share that we are 80% of the way to our calendar year-end goal!
We are deeply grateful for the incredible support that makes our work possible. If you haven’t made your year-end, tax-deductible gift yet, there’s still time to help us continue to preserve, inspire, and grow.
You can support the Arboretum at the link in bio.
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