Desert Botanical Garden

My husband's father lives in the area and though didn't have the much of a relationship I'll save you the family drama there. when we came across the country to visit...I'd head to the Botanical garden. His father's health went downhill and we are back in the area to take care of his final wishes as he passed away a few weeks ago. Now that he's gone i don't know if I will ever come here. This is a great Botanical garden and I have so enjoyed exploring here for years. This is definitely a desert Garden though so keep that in mind it's like no other I've ever seen. This visit the butterfly area was closed for the season and none of the cactus were blooming. I have seen the plants many times but love walking around. Really like the birds and rabbits. A great area to see wildlife is behind the buildings in the area that used to be the cafe. There is open field of desert and definitely download the merlin app. Quail, Roadrunner and hummingbird can be seen walking around outside the entrance. always have sunscreen a hat refillable water bottle chapstick with sunscreen in it and of course the camera sunglasses. If you're not familiar with this area of the country that dry heat is no joke you go through so much lotion and ChapStick. Stay hydrated and enjoy.When we were last there they were doing a night exhibit with lit up art. My Botanical Garden pass wasn't from this area but they still honor it I definitely got my money's worth out of the pass this year. There is some chihully glass still at the park but there was a lot that's gone I miss it I really think that the art glass paired well with the desert landscape I don't know if it didn't withstand the Heat or somebody damaged it but I missed it. The entrance glass remains. Well if I never get to return here I really enjoyed my years of coming I love seeing the wildlife roadrunners and quail. I love seeing the birds make homes in the cactuses or is it cacti. I've seen them in bloom which is beautiful and when the butterfly thing is going it is definitely worth the visit. It honestly makes me a little bit sad to know I probably won't come back here since it's so far and there's not much else in the area that we would come to do it's about 3 hours away from anything that we would come to see. But with that said I did go to the Butterfly World and it was nice and I always like that illusion Museum but they're not things I would base a whole vacation on.

I am a sucker for a botanical garden. I try to find one in every city I visit but this one is special. I came on a Saturday night for sunset. I was able to get a ticket at the door for about $25. I walked in and there was a proposal right off the back and two weddings. I felt like it was a beautiful place to get married or engaged. I started walking around the trails and it was perfect because the signs were easily to follow. The trails were long but not unbearable. Easy for all activity types just make sure that you are wearing sneakers or you will get dirt on your toes.Some of my highlights were that I was able to see a hummingbird in the hummingbird garden. I also really loved the time of day that I went because once it got dark all the sculptures light up and it was stunning!! I loved that signs with the fun facts everywhere and I loved that even though there were a lot of people there on a Saturday night it still felt intimate and like a unique experience. At the end I stopped by the gift shop and I got a mangnet to bring home that had a live cactus in it. I loved how they packed it up for me and they gave me instructions on how to take care of it. The staff at this spot is great.

Overall: 9/10Plant life: 8/10Layout: 8/10Natural beauty: 9/10Value: 5/10Beautiful botanical garden with a very walkable layout. Best time is spring/summer when most of the vegetation is in bloom. It's all based on desert and cacti plants which obviously makes sense. The whole family enjoys coming here. Plan to spend 3-5 hours if you plan on doing the entire selection of gardens.

I need to start off and say; BOOK YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE. They sell out very quickly!Living here for so long, you regret the natural beauty that this desert state has to offer! And what better time to cherish it than at night, lol. There is a current exhibit happening called LIGHT BLOOM by HYBYCOZO. This features light and geometric design and the beautiful cacti surrounding it. This was the highlight and reason for visiting the garden at night. The trailers were lovely and everything we happened upon the installation, many (including us) were around to take pictures.They had live music in different sections of the garden, but my favorite were the performers from the Navajo tribe and the story telling of their flutes with natures, and the all-female mariachi band.There are also many drink carts throughout the garden where we picked up a few hot cocoas to go!At the end, we perused the gift shop and bought a few fun things for my toddler, local honey for my sister, and a cute cactus-bear for my niece.

The Desert Botanical Gardens is a must-see on any visit to Phoenix. The cacti are extremely varied, hundreds upon hundreds of species including cacti from Africa. Another well-planned, perfectly curated garden *huge*. With the view of the mountains at every turn, this place is a horticulturalist's fantasy.This is the ultimate Chill Zone.

Light Bloom, shown October through March, is amazing! The geometric light installations are fascinating.We went around New Year's because tickets were sold out during Christmas week. The trails were so beautiful and there are so many impressively huge plants as well as smaller families of plants clustered together.We definitely want to go back during the day to check out the trails in daylight but this first experience was great.

Must do! Amazing place full of so many different cactus and native plants. We were here around 2 hours by choice so we didn't see everything. Just the right amount of walking and the temp was perfect in mid-February. If we're ever in the Phoenix area again, we would definitely go back to see more.

What a great way to spend the morning exploring the desert botanicals. Again, a moderately priced entrance for the experience. The best part was seeing plants that will be able to survive in Austin. Trails can get congested with strollers and wagons but it's easy to maneuver around them.I like how they have separated trails by type of desert. Gorgeous time!

The garden is huge and we try to come specifically for the holiday event in the evening Los Noches Luminarias that runs from end of November through December.They have live entertainment throughout and beautiful tributes with Luminarias lining the paths and festive lights. It's about $44 a person with fees for adults which was be on the pricier side but worth the experience if you enjoy live music and even Apache storytelling. Highlights were the LIGHT BLOOM by HYBYCOZO exhibits (shown in photos). It's a limited-time exhibit throughout the garden. Beautiful place that is continuing to expand. Free parking but plan to arrive early for parking as there are lines. 10/10 would recommend. They have a cool Mexican Cardon cactus that's 75 years old and lots of plants that'll amaze you.

While spending a week in Phoenix with old friends, we decided that the Desert Botanical Garden would be nice place to spend an afternoon, and we were right.The gardens are spectacular in and of themselves (see my photos), but I particularly appreciated the interpretive information about how the indigenous people and early settlers were able to use the flora and fauna of the desert to not only survive, but thrive. And added bonus when we visited was the work of "El Maestro: Fernando Botero." Several of his sculptures were on display in the gardens and a nice retrospective presentation of his paintings was hanging in the gallery. The quality in which his work was presented elevated our experience to "Six Stars." I would hope that other special presentations are just as spectacular.