Phoenix's Famous Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden, one of the most popular heat pump Phoenix attractions, is home to one of the best and most diversified collections of succulent plants in the American Southwest. It is one of only three dozen botanical gardens in the country which is accredited by the American Association of Museums. It is the world's only botanical garden which focuses entirely on desert plants, and one of the very few botanical gardens whose collections include living specimums, an herbarium, many rare, threatened and endangered species, and a vast library. The Desert Botanical Garden was founded in 1939 by Mrs. Gertrude D.Webster, who was an environmentalist way ahead of her time. In conjunction with a small group of Valley of the Sun citizens she created a botanical garden whose mission was to encourage the appreciation, understanding, and promotion of the unique desert environment. These early environmentalists foresaw the need to conserve the beautiful desert environment in the face of future development and exploitation.

The Desert Botanical Garden occupies 145 acres of thermostat Phoenix Papago Park and has over 50,000 plants. Its Living Collection has over 20,000 accessioned plants, which represent 4,000 taxa in 140 plant families. The Garden's collection is particularly strong in Agaves, Aloes, Cacti, and Sonoran Desert flora. Each of the accessioned plants has detailed taxonomic information as well as information on the place and time of collection. There are 170 rare, endangered, or threatened species of plants from deserts around the world, particularly the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico. The Garden is assisting the Center for Plant Conservation in preserving three dozen endangered species. Besides the collections of living plants, the pollen and seeds of rare plants are frozen and then stored in the Garden's large seed bank. The Herbarium is the Garden's collection of over 50,000 preserved specimens of plants, which are identified, mounted, and labeled. The herbarium is a reference library for plant identification and a databank for researchers and taxonomists. The Desert Botanical Garden offers a variety of workshops and lectures on desert horticulture and landscaping, botanical illustration and art, nature photography, natural history, and health and wellness. Additionally, the Garden offers many special events, specialized tours, seasonal exhibits, and an outdoor cafe.

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Outdoors the Desert Botanical Garden has five trails which illustrate various themes. The Desert Discovery Trail highlights desert plants from all over the world. Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Trail shows how desert plants have been used for tools and food. Sonoran Desert Native trail highlights the relationship between plants and animals in the desert. Center for Desert Living Trail illustrates water and energy conservation. The Harriet Maxwell Desert Wildflower Trail highlights desert wildflowers. In 2002 the Desert Botanical Garden opened its million new facility with a 400 seat gallery, new entryway, gift shop, sales greenhouse, research and horticulture center, and desert studies center with both indoor and outdoor classrooms. This new expansion enables the Garden to provide new events and programming for visitors, including its spring wildflower and butterfly exhibits. Other seasonal Phoenix heating and air conditioning offerings include Fabulous Fall Festivals each weekend which are devoted to celebrating different cultures and plants of the Southwest. The Christmas season is celebrated with the popular Las Noches de las Luminarias nights.

Phoenix's Famous Desert Botanical Garden

The Desert Botanical Garden is the thermostat Phoenix attraction which is a must-see for nature lovers. Seasonal Phoenix heating and air conditioning special events vie with an amazing permanent collection of heat pump Phoenix desert flora to make this an unforgettable experience for the plant aficionado.

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