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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You know about tree huggers - but where are the cactus huggers at? 🌵
We kid. Please don`t hug any cacti. 😅We`re sure they can feel the love from afar! You can see this towering cardón in our Cactus and Succulents Garden. See the link in our bio to plan your visit today!
#cactuslovers #cardón #naturelovers #arizonanature
Did you know that Jatropha macrocarpa (or Barbados Nut) can be used to produce biofuel? That`s because its seeds contain an average of 34% oil! If you look closely at this plant, you`ll spot little green pods. Inside are developing seeds that will mature as the pods turn yellow.
You can see this remarkable plant up close in the Smith Greenhouse. Plan your visit today!
#Barbadosnut #jatropha #plantlovers #plantfacts #naturelovers #btarboretum
Have you visited our Eucalyptus Forest? Walking through the trails is truly an immersive experience. You`ll see:
🍃Mr. Big, the largest red river gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the United States
🍃A rock labyrinth for meditation (located in Conifer Corner)
🍃Eucalyptus trees shedding bark to accommodate their rapid growth
🍃Intricate tree stumps and trunks, some of which have been turned into benches!
🍃Benson Bridge, which crosses over Silver King Wash
What`s your favorite part of the Eucalyptus Forest? Let us know in the comments! 👇
#eucalyptus #redrivergum #australianplants #labyrinthmeditation #btarboretum #ExploreNature
Something new is flowering in the Wallace Region! The Nolina nelsonii, or Blue Nolina, is a slow-growing succulent that may only bloom once in its lifetime. This plant has likely been growing for 15-20+ years, building up to this one spectacular moment. Its truly an honor to witness it`s final bloom.
Plan your visit today to see our summer blooms!
#deathbloom #bluenolina #nolina #succulentbloom #plantfacts #plantlovers
We`re hiring! Join the team that makes this beautiful garden thrive. Open positions include:
🌵 Welcome Center Sales Associate
🌵 Development Administrative Assistant
🌵 Executive Assistant
🌵 Membership Coordinator
🌵 Maintenance Technician
🌵 Marketing Strategist
Apply today at btarboretum.org/careers (link in bio). We look forward to hearing from you!
#btarboretum #superiorarizona #ArizonaHiring #openpositions #WeAreHiring
The littoral zone is the region where land and water meet! At our manmade reservoir, the littoral zone is made up of cattails, which provide habitat to birds, insects, and amphibians.
Next time you visit us, stop by Ayer Lake to see if you can spot any life among the cattails!
#aznature #naturelovers #natureeducation #littoralzone #cattails
If you hear a "tap, tap, tap" above your head while you`re hiking, it might be a Gila Woodpecker! These clever birds search for insects by pecking on tree trunks, shrubs, and even cacti.
The holes they excavate in cacti sometimes become homes for smaller birds later on, making their simple foraging behaviors greatly beneficial to our ecosystem.
#gilawoodpecker #BirdingCommunity #birding #southwestbirding #azbirding #birdinghotspot
This summer, 41 teachers from across Arizona participated in a specialized professional development program designed in partnership with @azgfd to bring hands-on science education into their classrooms.
Made possible through support from @resolutioncopper, the program equipped educators with classroom-ready lessons that connected desert ecology, STEM learning, and Arizona State Science Standards. Teachers left with:
🌱 Lesson plans
🌱 Presentations
🌱 Hands-on activities
🌱 Educational supplies including a classroom set of plants
🌱 Professional development experience they can immediately apply in their classrooms.
The impact extends far beyond a single workshop. Every teacher who participates has the potential to reach hundreds of students, creating a ripple effect that strengthens science education, environmental literacy, and stewardship in the Copper Corridor and across Arizona.