B2B: The long awaited return to Boyce Thompson Arboretum..

April 15

It may have taken a couple years, and been a touch warm when the clouds broke but, an otherwise great Monday spent checking in on the top Botanical Garden destination in Arizona.. Sure, there's Desert Botanical, which some place at the top of gardens to visit here but, when it comes to sheer diversity of plants to see -in one place- No place here beats Boyce, the oldest Botanical Garden in the state.. Scenery is unbeatable as well.

As is the case whenever i do a deep dive check in at X Y Z garden, all plant groups encountered are covered.. None of that boxing one's self into highlighting just specific groups on a visit.. Not something a legit plant person would do anyway.. Never understand why some go the boxed in route when visiting gardens but, ..to each their own i guess.. Glad that aint me..

An interesting coincidence? one of the bigger spring check ins here was made on the same day ( April 14th ) back in 2021.. Only difference is that the 14th fell on a Wednesday in '21. Weather conditions were eerily similar today as that visit too..

With a ton of shots taken, groups of them will be added in to this thread over a few days time. Honestly didn't get to everything on the list to look over, let alone stops at the side spots i often visit while in the area because the camera battery died. No worries, Monsoon Season ahead = i'll be back soon enough. Majority of what goals were set for the day were reached, so all is good.

Because it was such a dry and warm winter, the usual palette of native wildflowers filling wilder areas within the Arboretum were quite sparse. Regardless, plenty of flowering things to see..

Nice to be back here, finally, lol

A few tasty breakfast bites, for now..

These Hercules have grown quite a bit in 2 years.. Remember, Boyce occasionally sees snow in the winter.

Halo greeting the days adventure shortly after sunrise as one heads out? ..It's gonna be a good day.. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

April 15

Opening view ...and what makes this great garden, even better ..

Don't even need to wait for the gates to be opened to get a hint of what lies ahead once you're inside.. Nice to see you again Picky Post..

Don't even have to get further into the garden to hear the overwhelming buzz of ...millions... of bees at work overhead. Nice to hear " natural " noise vs. man made.

Diospyros texana grove in full bloom one passes through when heading toward the Tropical and Wallace gardens = lots ( ...and lots ) of bees..

As is the case on each visit, check on the " Tropical Garden " and nearby, less common collection of mainly New world Cycads is the first stop..

Dioons, looking good, as usual..

Ceratozamia hildae and latifolia < on the right > ( ** Might need to check the tag again ) = Smaller than i'd assumed they might be after a couple years but still going.

Same idea w/ their Cardboards ( Zam. furfuracea ) * Not pictured *

Mazari ..One of them..

Sabal uresana (..and other Sabal friends.. ) and Brahea planted here looking pretty good.. armata looking a bit stretched though.

...Fate of the little Brahea edulis planted here? ..Nope, it's a goner.. That's how it goes sometimes.. Tough palm, just maybe not Desert Tough, even up here.

Rhaphiolepis sp.

** Chrysojasminum sp. ** = Several of the yellow flowered Jasminum sps were recently reassigned to Chrysojasminum.

Names change, get used to it..

..Still no sign for this kid..

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April 16

Additional palms and friends from both the Sonoran Desert Loop, and main palm collection..

Sabal uresana

Brahea brandegeei

B. armata, not sure why this one, and the nearby S. uresana are a little beat up..

..Esp. when this one nearby looks pretty much perfect..

more armata ..and friends

Nolina matepensis

Main palm collection ..Inc the " nicest " Queen i've seen anywhere here..

Green trees in shot 2 from this area are Anacua, Ehretia anacua.

Needle palm still looking good...

One ( ....of a gazillion ) Ocotillo throughout the arboretum and surrounding desert with a perfect view of Picket Post Mountain....

April 16

While both the Wallace Garden Collection and Eucalyptus grove would be within the top must see areas of the Arboretum, the Iris collection would be another big attraction at Boyce..

Here, you get to see two similar, but distinctly different ends of the " Iris spectrum "

On one hand, in the main courtyard near the Tropical Garden, you can examine and enjoy a sizable collection of various Bearded / German Iris cultivars and varieties ( " Border ", " Standard ", and / or " taller " Iris types for example ) ...and yes, if you provide the right spot for them, they will grow down here in the valley..

Flip the coin and in a different area, in a couple of the gardens on the Queen Creek facing side of Magma Ridge, you come across a collection of one of the more exotic branches of the Iris family, ..the Aril and Aril -Bred iris

While they might look very similar to typical " German " Iris, Arils are distinct in where they originate / growing conditions they must have to be cultivated successfully.. Flowers on many species may lack " beards " as well. Some are quite a challenge to grow, but worth it ...if you can provide the exact things they require..

A big clue to where they originate comes from some of the Middle Eastern -esque names given to many of the cultivars / crosses..

This was a big reason some Arils ( and related Oncocyclus types ) were crossed with German types.. They bring ease of growth / wider adaptability to the table, while the Aril / Onc. side of such a cross often brings more exotic colors / color patterns into the mix..

Out of flower, it isn't as easy to tell the two groups apart.. Iris leaf " Fans " ..look like fans..

While i've caught the Arils in flower in the past, timing on this visit was just about as good as it gets for catching a majority of them in bloom..

Aril / Aril bred types, or standard / German types,

IMO, only Orchids, Desert Rose ( Adenium ) and Plumeria can match / exceed the degree of flower color range seen within both groups of these Iris..

No wonder they are garden treasures the world over, ..even the tougher to grow sps.

Standard / German Iris: ..Some " Dutch " / Spanish Iris in this area too..

Aril / Aril Bred Iris: ..Can't remember the cultivar names atm.

April 17

Nice to see these photos of Boyce Thompson, I have been there in a few decades but always found the setting stunning with a great selection of plants. Also love the Desert Botanical Garden.

Nice to see Brahea brandegeii growing there and appears to be thriving. I don’t remember that palm from when I’ve been there in the past.

Got a friend in Phoenix area I’d like to visit, gotta get that trip going and go see all these gorgeous places again. Arizona is so beautiful.

April 17

4 hours ago, ChrisA said:

Nice to see these photos of Boyce Thompson, I have been there in a few decades but always found the setting stunning with a great selection of plants. Also love the Desert Botanical Garden.

Nice to see Brahea brandegeii growing there and appears to be thriving. I don’t remember that palm from when I’ve been there in the past.

Got a friend in Phoenix area I’d like to visit, gotta get that trip going and go see all these gorgeous places again. Arizona is so beautiful.

Think the only things that could / could have made AZ about as perfect as it could get would be a little more rain during the summer, every summer, ...which would cut back on the extreme heat ..and had the Gulf ( of CA ) extended a little further north and east ..giving us lots of shallow, Balandra -esque coves and bays between rocky mountain islands between Yuma and Gila Bend ...or as far east as Maricopa.. and as far north as Blythe, along the Colorado..

Other than those two ..or three.. things, diversity of native landscapes here are pretty hard to beat, even if they can look a bit bleak in certain areas, or at certain times of the year.

Time your visit right and you might catch everything green this summer ..If the thoughts on a wetter summer, esp. compared to the last two, pans out..

As far as the gardens, DBG is a good visit, but has become wayyy too busy ...and expensive.. $24 -34.00 admission currently, ..and they advise visitors to make reservations, something started back in the pandemic days..

Appears admission drops to just under $17.00 June 1st thru Labour Day, which is good ..though someone might have to make a visit shorter due to the heat. They still host the " free 2nd Tuesday of the month " Community Day " ..which is good too.

Boyce, Tohono Chul, Tucson Botanical, and the Desert Museum? admission has gone up there too of course over the years but, no need to make reservations, and all 4 places offer up much more to see / are very close to other worth while places to check out too...

Aside from the diversity of stuff to see there, what i really like about Boyce ..and Tohono Chul, is that things aren't babied / planting beds are more natural in how they are managed.. something gets nipped after a cold winter? you'll see that natural process afterward ..unless it was something that posed a significant safety hazard and had to be removed.

High Trail up at Boyce offers a unique ..and somewhat intimidating.. experience for those who walk that trail while exploring the overall garden. Great views of Queen Creek and Magma Ridge from up there though.

Will say that they may need to keep a closer eye on a few sections of it.. I noticed that some of the rock walls in a couple sections look a little less stable than they did a couple years ago.. Big cracks in some seriously big rocks, lol..

April 17

Thanks for the suggestions Nathan! I found your first paragraph amusing as I had similar thoughts when I Lived in Albuquerque, only the Gulf of California would reach up the Rio Grande to just north of Albuquerque. We would’ve had stunning scenery and palms galore!

These droughts are really getting to me, in the 90’s the monsoons were really pretty reliable as far as I recall, but the last two decades have gotten terrible and it seems to just keep getting worse. Was hoping the move to San Antonio would bring moisture back into my life. It did for the first summer (2021), but ever since it’s been a mega drought - dried up lakes and rivers, and summer temps, not as rough as Phoenix, of 105-112 for months on end. I’m thankful my folks still live in New England so I can go there and see greenery and experience what life is like with water a big part of it. I write all this to seriously tempt the fates and dare a deluge to spite my words.

in my heart I know the drought is of my own making. So much rain in the summer of ‘21 that continuously kept washing out my front walkway. I got tired of constantly having to fix it that I quit doing it. Within a week of not repairing it the storms stopped. We still get storms of course, occasionally, but instead of an inch or four, it’s 2/10ths. I’m seriously considering repairing my walkway to see what happens. 😆 Maybe all the ranchers, municipalities, and lakeside homeowners would pay me?

April 18

On 4/17/2025 at 6:33 AM, ChrisA said:

Thanks for the suggestions Nathan! I found your first paragraph amusing as I had similar thoughts when I Lived in Albuquerque, only the Gulf of California would reach up the Rio Grande to just north of Albuquerque. We would’ve had stunning scenery and palms galore!

These droughts are really getting to me, in the 90’s the monsoons were really pretty reliable as far as I recall, but the last two decades have gotten terrible and it seems to just keep getting worse. Was hoping the move to San Antonio would bring moisture back into my life. It did for the first summer (2021), but ever since it’s been a mega drought - dried up lakes and rivers, and summer temps, not as rough as Phoenix, of 105-112 for months on end. I’m thankful my folks still live in New England so I can go there and see greenery and experience what life is like with water a big part of it. I write all this to seriously tempt the fates and dare a deluge to spite my words.

in my heart I know the drought is of my own making. So much rain in the summer of ‘21 that continuously kept washing out my front walkway. I got tired of constantly having to fix it that I quit doing it. Within a week of not repairing it the storms stopped. We still get storms of course, occasionally, but instead of an inch or four, it’s 2/10ths. I’m seriously considering repairing my walkway to see what happens. 😆 Maybe all the ranchers, municipalities, and lakeside homeowners would pay me?

:greenthumb:

Agree, Theory only ofcourse but, had a slice of the Gulf of Mexico cut it's way through W/ Cen. TX, up to about Odessa, Kermit ..or even Pine Springs, native palms probably would have followed..

The kicker on that side of the Rockies is still being wide open to the Arctic which might still limit northerly extant of more tropical stuff.. That said, 30-80 mile wide body of water extending from just south of Carlsbad NM, to Corpus certainly could help w/ generating more rainfall during the summer though.. Same what if -ism thoughts regarding the Gulf of CA nosing a bit further north and east out here.

Winters might be getting drier, which is expected when less snow falls / mean Jet stream position slowly migrates north as the subtropical belt expands towards the poles but i'm still kind of 🤔 regarding summers.. Yes, lol... last couple, < and 2020 > were pretty awful but when you look over Monsoon season stats since '81 -at least,- you have a few that were pretty awful, several that fall pretty close to normal, ..and the wet years, like 83, 84, 90, 92, 99, 13-18, and 21. ( PHX and Tucson stats ) If we suddenly had 15-30 years -in a row- that were .#$%^&** .horrendously dry, IE: like ..or worse.. than 23 and last year, ..that could be an ominous sign. We'll see of course, but, I just don't think that will be the case. Nature is the pendulum always balancing things out, in her time..

Overall, drought really doesn't bug me / nothing worth constant whining about.. Plant the right stuff for such an area, and you'll be fine.. No need to waste water trying to create some detached from reality type of paradise. Might be brutal on me at times but, I'll take the handful of super dry summers between the wetter ones over ...pretty much everything else experienced elsewhere..

Very little concern for random extreme winter blasts, cold dull springs, wet and depressingly dark winters, or constant threats from flatten everything Hurricanes.. Tornadoes? Been some time since a bigger one, but, ..we see a few every now and again, inc the rare F2 - 3's.. https://data.usatoday.com/tornado-archive/arizona/ Weird how the bigger ones noted here in the valley seem to prefer areas north and along the US 60, lol..

Drought and fire ..for those living in the foothills / mountains esp. are pretty much all anyone local has to keep a close eye on at times.. Once we put a cork in the detached from reality mindset some folks cling to when they move here, our water issues will even themselves out..

Dust storms are only a threat if you're not smart about what to do in one, or just fear ...everything.. I personally can't wait to experience / be out photographing the next, 2011 - level < or bigger > " Phoenix Haboob "..

If there's any " disaster " type weather event i wouldn't mind seeing more of? ..it would be summer flooding.. Cross my fingers to live long enough to witness a summer that is so wet, temporary lakes form out in the desert between here and Tucson, and see rivers like the Gila and Santa Cruz full of water, and flowing all the way to where they meet the Salt and lower Gila west of Phoenix, and then all the way to the CO. River Delta.

If i have a nagging hankering for somewhere greener than it might be at home during a dry summer? Rim, and/ or Sky Islands close to Mexico < my preference > are just a few hours away to get my fix.. Even better? spending a week / month ..entire.. summer in Baja Sur, or somewhere along the Sierra Madre Occidental./ Southern Mountains down there. San Diego is just over the hill to the west too.

..Enough rambling from me.. Time to move on.. :greenthumb:

April 19

Like Cats, and Classical music, a few Roses. ...Because some people like 'em.. Even here in the Desert..

Lonicera x " Pam's Pink "

L. sempervirens

Yes, Even something fairly delicate like Sweet Peas can be grown here.. In the winter.. These color combinations were worthy of a few shots.

Bignonia capreolata ...The only " Trumpet Vine " worth growing here.

The " pretty " Honeybush, Melianthus comosus ...If i remember correctly

Onward, toward the prickly -er thingzz....

I See you Shrimp Plant..

April 19

...Barrel Cactus Heaven #1 < and friends > in one of many Cactus filled gardens...

Vachellia rigidula..

Random scenes...

Pineapple Guava " hedge " , au' naturel

More Dioon specimens.. Cycas revolta tucked in the back under the pergola.. ** Not pictured ** Some Cardboard Palms added in this area too.

Strelitzia reginae

Interesting scene of a Arizona native ( Western Soapberry < Sapindus drummondii > ) and native bulb from the Mediterranean, Giant White Squill ...or, Urginea maritima joining forces to create a a view more familiar in a forest back east ..when warmer days are enough to get the spring bulbs up, but tree canopy above is just starting to awaken..

.....

Opening views as we reach the Wallace Garden...

April 19

Because some seem to confuse the two, Both Agave nickelsiae and A. victoria reginae, side by side.. perhaps on the next check in, i should mention that they should add an A. pintilla specimen in this spot, just to really throw the confused for a loop..

Mine is throwing a couple offsetsatm, so i could always donate it..

Agave n. closer up..

A. victoria reginae ..clos'rrr up

How often does one catch an Agave v. r. bolting? ...Not very often.. Pretty neat stuff, i'll tell you 'whhat..

April 20

Some Yucca and Agave..

Y. filifera

Y. elata

Y. torreyi ..Blue -ish form.

Y. baccata

Random scenes and some Yucca whose names escape me atm.. Short tree in shot #7 is Mexican Buckeye, Ungnadia speciosa

Agave colorata

A. salmiana

A. palmeri ...See you kids in habitat again soon..

A. colorata ..but not 100% certain.. Regardless, Cochemiea grahamii and Astrolepis sp. photobombers make this as habitat -y as it gets.. How i'd grow mine..

Tuesday at 10:19 PM

Notable trees ...n' other things... in the Wallace Garden..

Ceiba ..speciosa, if i remember right..

Mimosa martin- delcampoi ..Still not as big as i'd assumed they be by now but, ..at least both specimens are still alive..

Lophocereus / Pachycereus marginatus w/ fruit and flowers..

Libidibia ** no longer part of Caesalpinia ** paraguariensis

Hesperocyparis glabra, Smooth Arizona Cypress.. After the last couple brutal summers, nice to see the group of these in the collection looking good.

Leucanea retusa.. A couple looked pretty ragged, while others look fine / healthy..

Opuntia macrocentra, ..per the sign below it..

" Standard White " form of Bauhinia lunaroides, Anacacho Orchid tree..

Rare you see a specimen this big..

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Wednesday at 03:10 PM

Is the Bauhinia in full sun Nathan?

Wednesday at 03:39 PM

13 minutes ago, Peter said:

Is the Bauhinia in full sun Nathan?

Yes, both of these are in the Chihuahuan Garden which sits on a wide, old alluvial bench on the south side of Queen Creek ..Where it passes through that section of the Arboretum..

Full sun and planted in straight, un-amended, rocky native soil up there.. Not too far from one another either but the 2nd specimen is much bigger than the 1st. ...which makes me wonder if it sits in a pocket where water collects when it rains / " soil " is a little deeper than where the shorter one is growing.

Wednesday at 04:54 PM

Its a beauty, although I'm still thinking of that pink version you posted recently that might be even better.

Wednesday at 05:21 PM

2 minutes ago, Peter said:

Its a beauty, although I'm still thinking of that pink version you posted recently that might be even better.

Pink form definitely grabs your attention a bit more than the white form, but both are worth growing. Grouped together, can see them make quite a statement in a landscape.

The interesting thing is now that i've seen the pink form in full bloom ( ...Arboretum has another pinkie i'll post shots of soon ) and the Chihuahuan Orchid Tree in bloom, it confirms a suspicion i've had about a couple specimens in another garden i've always thought were a much rarer species you don't < but should > see cultivated, B. ramosissma.

Out of flower, it looks exactly like a shorter, bushier lunaroides. Flowers look like those on macranthera ( = Chihuahuan Orchid Tree ) but the leaves are much smaller.

Should be flowering ..or really close to flowering by now so, i'll have to get out to that garden to check on those.

Thursday at 12:01 AM

A couple other noteworthy Trees in the Chihuahuan Desert Garden section of the Wallace Garden..

Texas Lignum Vitae, Guaiacum ** Soon to be reassigned to Porlieria ..apparently..... <  https://www.inaturalist.org/taxon_changes/55176   > angustifolium.. the smallest, ..and toughest.. of the Lignum Vitae.

Arboretum has two specimens.. This one growing in more shade near some of the garden's Iris.. Lusher, but few flowers on it..

...and a bigger specimen located in the Chihuahuan Desert Garden.. ..that was in full bloom.

Eve's Necklace, Styphnolobium affine..   Still the only specimen of this tree i've seen in AZ and it looks pretty good, despite 2 horrible summers since i last saw it..

Maybe not quite as notable as the other two but, Rhus microphylla, Little - leaf Sumac is another one of those small-ish trees that should be grown much more / utilized in landscapes than it is currently. Beats the horribly invasive / aggressive African Sumac by miles..

...Other notable thingzzz....

Can't recall the name atm, but thinking this is a Mimosa from S. America.. Several specimens of it planted throughout the Wallace Garden......

While Boyce is noted for the large grove of Eucalyptus in the center of the property, only a couple of the Australian things really stand out / catch my attention..

Feather Mallee, Eucalyptus formanii being the most attractive.. Can see the color, height, form fitting into several landscape applications.

Albizia sinaloensis.. Smaller and a bit more beat up compared to the giants closer to home ..But , it's still kicking..

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