Arizona Gardens

 Arboretum and Desert Arboretum Park at Arizona State University: Facilities

 Management/Department Grounds, Tempe, AZ 85287-3305 (602)965-8467.

The Arboretum on the 700 acre ASU campus, an oasis in the desert, displays over 300 species from diverse geographic regions as well as the Sonoran Desert. Special collections include date palms, conifers of the desert Southwest and native southwestern plants. Featured are a wide array of plants useful to humans, those most appropriate for general landscape purposes in the arid Southwest, and rare plants of the world. The Desert Arboretum Park, located between Sun Devil Stadium and Packard Stadium, is a botanical refuge for desert plants.

 Arboretum at Flagstaff: 4001 S. Woody Mountain Road (Off Route 66), Flagstaff, AZ 86001-

 8776 (520)774-1442.

200 acres of ponderosa pine forest (at 7,150 feet in elevation) are home to a variety of gardens, including an herb garden, a shade garden, a butterfly garden and a wildflower meadow. Nature trails includes "benches of solitude" and a babbling brook.

 Arizona Cactus Botanical Garden: 8 South Cactus Lane, Bisbee, AZ 85603 (520)432-7040.

The Garden displays 800 varieties of high desert plant life. The greenhouses and shade frames are study centers testing the suitability of plants for desert landscape use. The Garden demonstrates how colorful desert plants can be and the rich variety of plants that thrive in even the harshest climates.

 Arizona Historical Society Century House and Gardens: 240 South Madison Avenue,

 Yuma, AZ 85364-1421 (520)782-1841. Arizona Historical Society

Century House, built in the 1870s, is an Arizona Historical Society museum with period rooms and exhibits giving the flavor of life in turn of the century Yuma County. Its shady gardens were built with aviaries that display exotic and talking birds -- or is it the birds which display themselves?

 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: 2021 N. Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ 85743-8918

 (520)883-1380.

A zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden all in one wonderful 21 acre park, the Museum's interpretive displays showcase living animals and plants native to the Sonoran Desert. Features seen along the two miles of paths include a riparian corridor, a desert garden, pollination gardens, a cactus garden, a cat canyon, a desert grassland, mountain woodlands and a cave. Wildlife, including ocelots, otters, snakes, bighorn sheep, hummingbirds, tortoises, wolves and more, is featured in its natural desert settings.

 Bell Recreation Center Memorial Garden: 99th Avenue & Bell Road, Sun City, AZ

 (602)876-3000.

This garden displays roses originally grown in the White House Rose Garden as well as replicas of the Liberty Bell and copies of historical documents.

 Biblical Garden: Paradise Valley United Methodist Church, 4455 East Lincoln Drive,

 Paradise Valley, Arizona 85253 (602) 840-8360.

The similarity of Arizona's climate to that of Palestine was the inspiration for this garden, which features 2300 plants, 100 of which are mentioned in the Bible. The plantings provide a vivid glimpse into the law, medicine, agriculture, commerce, and religion of Biblical times.

 Biosphere 2 Center: Highway 77 & Mile Marker 96.5, P.O. Box 689, Oracle , Arizona 

 85623  (800)828-2462.

The remarkable seven million cubic foot glass structure houses seven wilderness ecosystems - desert, savanna, rainforest, ocean, marsh, agro-forestry and human habitat. View the web page video for a peak.

 Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park: 37615 U.S. 60, Superior, AZ 85273-5100

 (520)689-2723.

Founded in the 1920s by mining magnate Boyce Thompson to give people an appreciation of plants, the Arboretum displays native Sonoran Desert vegetation alongside plants from many other varied deserts and dry lands. Special areas include the Cactus Garden, the Taylor Family Legume Garden, the Wing Memorial (herb) Garden, the (drought tolerant plant) Demonstration Garden, and the High Trail.

 Century House Museum: 240 South Madison (off Interstate 8's Giss Parkway exit at Madison Avenue), Yuma, AZ (520)782-1841.

This pioneer merchant's home is now a museum of territorial times, and displays Italian-style gardens and aviaries.

 Desert Botanical Garden: 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix, AZ 85008 (602)941-1225.

The purpose of the Desert Botanical Garden is to exhibit, conserve, study and disseminate knowledge of arid-land plants of the world, with a particular emphasis on succulents and the native flora of the Southwestern United States. The Cactus house, the Succulent House, the Desert House and four desert trails, display over 20,000 plants representing 3,886 taxa, one of the world's foremost collections of desert plants.

  Heritage Rose Garden: Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Office, 4341 E. Broadway  

 Road, Phoenix, AZ.

The Heritage Rose Garden Association maintains a demonstration garden with old fashioned rose varieties.

 Mesa Community College/Mesa-East Valley Rose Society Rose Garden : 1833 West

 Southern Avenue, Mesa, AZ 85202 (602)462-7407.

This extensive garden, maintained by the Mesa-East Valley Rose Society, displays over 2,000 rose bushes, making it one of the largest rose gardens in the Southwest.

 Mormon Temple (Arizona Temple) Gardens: 525 E. Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85203-8740

 (602)964-7164.

This impressive temple situated on 20 acres with a large reflection pool is graced by beds of colorful flowers.

 Navajo National Zoological and Botanical Park: P.O. Box 9000, Window Rock, AZ

 86515 (928)871-6573 or (928)871-6574.

The Zoo, located at Window Rock (the capitol of the Navajo Nation), contains a variety of native species including bears, lions, wolves, and coyotes.

 Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument: Route 1, Box 100, Ajo, AZ 85321 (520)387-6849

 or (520)387-7661.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was established to protect the rare Organ Pipe Cactus, unique to the area, and 26 other cacti species, as well as more than 200 species of birds and other animals. Watch out for Roadrunner and other desert creatures!

 The Phoenix Zoo: Papago Park, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85008-3431

 (602)273-1341.

The private zoo, active in efforts to save endangered species, is divided into four areas. The Arizona Trail, the Africa Trail, and the Tropics Trail each feature its native creatures and ecosystems, and the Discovery Trail features domestic animals and plants, including a butterfly garden.

 Picacho Peak State Park: 35 Miles North of Tucson on Interstate 10, Eloy, AZ 85231

 (520)466-3183.

A trail at the base of this 1,500 foot peak provides lovely views of wildflowers in the spring.

 Reid Park Rose Test Garden: 900 South Randoph Way, Tucson, AZ 85716 (520)791-4873.

Co-sponsored by the Rose Society of Tucson and All-America Rose Selections, Inc. (AARS), this lovely garden features more than 160 rose varieties.

 Reid Park Zoo: 1100 S. Randolph Way, Tucson, AZ 85716-5835 (520)791-4022.

The Zoo displays over 500 exotic animals in naturalistic settings on 17 acres and runs captive breeding programs for giant anteaters, Siberian tigers, white rhinocerouses, and many other animals. A formal rose garden also graces the grounds (see above).

 Saguaro National Park East: 3693 South Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85730-5601

 (520)733-5153.

 Saguaro National Park West: 2700 North Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ 85743 (520)733-5158.

The Park is dedicated to the preservation of the cacti, desert trees and shrubs and animals of the Sonoran Desert, especially the stately Saguaro cactus. Walking trails afford interesting views of this complex and fascinating wildlife community.

 Sahuaro Ranch Park: 9802 North 59th Avenue (at Mountain View Road), Glendale, AZ 85302 (603)931-5321.

This historical ranch, now a regional park, features a rose garden with over 1,000 bushes of 110 varieties. Over 50 peacocks roam the lovely grounds.

 Sharlot Hall Museum 415 W. Gurley Street, Prescott, AZ 86301 (520)445-3122.

The Museum is dedicated to promoting educational adventures in human and natural history and sponsors the annual Folk Arts Fair, Cowboy Poets Gathering, Folk Music Festival, and Prescott Indian Art Market. Among the several historic buildings at the Museum complex are a rose garden, an herb garden, an ethnobotanical garden and a kitchen garden.

 Tohono Chul Park: 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, Tucson, AZ 85704 (520)742-6455.

This 49-acre, non-profit desert preserve is dedicated to enriching people's lives by providing them the opportunity to find peace and inspiration in a place of beauty, to experience the wonders of the Sonoran Desert, and to gain knowledge of the natural and cultural heritage of this region.

 Tucson Botanical Gardens: 2150 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85712 (520)326-9686.

This 5 acre former estate houses a host of lovely gardens: an iris garden, a tropical greenhouse, an herb garden, a spring wildflower garden, a Native American crops garden, a reception garden, a sensory garden; a cactus and succulent garden; a backyard bird garden; a tropical exhibit, a xeriscape garden, a butterfly garden and a barrio garden.

 Tubac Presidio State Historic Park: Off I-19, Tubac, AZ 85646 (510)398-2252.

The Park highlights archeological work on the earliest European settlement in Arizona which became a Spanish fort. In addition to the Museum, Historic Schoolhouse and Social Hall, visitors may take nature walks to glimpse the 180 different kinds of birds in the area and enjoy the medicinal and kitchen gardens.

 Valley Garden Center: 1809 North 15th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85007 (602)461-7055 or

 (602)967-7001.

This All America Rose Selections garden displays over 1,200 roses.

 Yuma Conservation Garden: 32nd Street, Yuma, AZ 85364 (520)317-1935.

The Yuma Conservation Garden, a celebration of the fascinating Sonoran Desert, combines a botanical garden, outdoor laboratory, animal refuge and farm equipment museum.