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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Watch out for this dangerous cousin of the cucumber.
Gila manroot (Marah gilensis) is a perennial vine in the gourd family. The long vines grow from tubers underground that can weigh up to 50 lbs. While its unique, spikey fruits may look enticing, they are toxic to humans. It`s best to leave these sprawling vines as decoration.
Plan your visit and explore fascinating native plants at the link in bio.
#btarboretu #boycethompsonarboretum #desertplants #nativeplants
Looking for something to do over Spring Break? Plan a trip to the Arboretum!
Explore desert wonders from all over the world. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
#thingstodoaz #boycethompsonarboretum #superioraz #springbreak
Whether you`re starting a new landscape or adding to growing plant collection, Boyce Thompson Arboretum`s Spring Plant Sale has the perfect native and desert adapted plants.
Pick up new trees, shrubs, perennials, and more for your garden or landscape. This plant sale features an array of plants from around the world, including plants native to the southwestern states and northern Mexico. These plants are better adapted to a climate like ours, making them more sustainable and water-wise.
March 14-29
8 am - 5 pm, daily
37615 E Arboretum Way
Superior, AZ 85173
BTA Members receive 20% off during plant sales and get early access to the sale on March 13. Start the spring season with a garden refresh!
#boycethompsonarboretum #desertplants #nativeplants #springplantsale
Boyce Thompson Arboretum is traveling to your classroom!
Boyce Thompson Arboretum classroom outreach brings outdoor learning to your school through S.T.E.A.M. units offering inquiry-based, engaging lessons that explore the world of plants as well as the phenomena of the Sonoran Desert. Learn how plants grow in our arid environment, the amazing adaptations of wildlife in the desert, and how to start and maintain a pollinator garden at your school.*
Classroom outreach is one piece of the Arboretum`s initiative to bring quality education to schools within the Copper Corridor. Thank you to our sponsor, @resolutioncopper, for making outreach possible.
Outreach sessions for the 2026-2027 school year are booking now. Learn more and schedule an outreach session at the link in bio.
*Some outreach programs are limited to schools within the Copper Corridor
#btarboretum #boycethompsonarboretum #outreach #stemeducation
What are you hoping to pick up at Boyce Thompson Arboretum`s Spring Plant Sale?
Spring Plant Sale begins March 14th and runs through March 29th, 8 am – 5 pm daily. BTA Members receive 20% off during plant sales and get early access to the sale on March 13! Become a member at the link in bio.
#btarboretum #boycethompsonarboretum #springplantsale #desertplants #springplanting
See beautiful and unique floral and horticultural displays at SPRING FEVER 🌺
Desert Designers & Gold Canyon Garden Club present SPRING FEVER 2026, A National Garden Club Small Standard Flower Show. Members of Desert Designers & Gold Canyon Garden Club come together to expand and exhibit their knowledge and skill of Floral design.
Open to the public – Free with Arboretum’s standard admission
Viewing Hours:
Saturday March 21st, 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Sunday March 22nd, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This flower show is held in honor of Kim Gray, Executive Director of Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Arizona’s largest and oldest botanical garden.
Plan your visit at the link in bio.
#btarboretum #boycethompsonarboretum #floraldesign #flowershow
Penstemon parryi is in bloom across the gardens. Native to the Sonoran Desert, this wildflower is adding stunning pops of pink across our desert landscape.
Come see what`s blooming. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
#btarborteum #boycethompsonarboretum #springblooms #nativewildflowers
March is daffodil month! Symbolizing spring, new beginnings, and happiness, these flowers are definitely adding joy to our gardens.
Every season has something new to offer. Plan your visit at the link in bio.
#btarborteum #boycethompsonarboretum #SpringBlooms #DesertBloom #daffodils