Entry # 9

 

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Over spring break, I was looking for something fun to do with my family and came across this beautiful gem located outside of Phoenix called Boyce Thompson Arboretum (BTA).  It is about one hour west of central Phoenix on Highway 60.  It is Arizona's first and oldest botanical garden with 20,000 species of plants, situated on 372 acres of beautiful Sonoran desert landscape.  William Boyce Thompson was a mining tycoon who founded BTA in 1923 as well as the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in New York in 1924.

                                                        Picket Post house where he lived with his wife

I was blown away while observing the diversity of plants in the different gardens while we were hiking around the trails here.  We saw several different kinds of birds such as finches, hawks, and hummingbirds as well as lots of small lizards.  The grounds were wonderfully maintained with many flowers in bloom.  It has a creek running through the property that is nestled against a picturesque mountain.

You can take a path along the creek

This location has many different statues and art installments throughout the property.  They had the property separated into different gardens and plant types to display the variety of plants around different areas of the world.  They also have a gift shop with a good selection of metal artwork to purchase.  You can purchase a plant at a reasonable price from here as well.  This place is great for families or anyone who would enjoy spending the day learning more about conservation and plant diversity.  

Statistics sourced from BTA website https://btarboretum.org/