The Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, located near the Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park, is a 140-acre botanical garden featuring desert plants and a few secrets hidden on the five themed trails. There’s much more than cacti. In fact, the garden is home to thousands of species of cactus, trees, and flowers from all around the world. No matter what the season, you’ll see flowers, stunning arrangements of living plants, birds, and desert wildlife. But my discovery of the secrets of the garden began years ago with an invitation to meet Pacific Northwest glass artist, Dale Chihuly, who was there to oversee the installation of an amazing collection of art glass objects.

The popular Chihuly art glass installations were placed to complement the natural environment. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Dale Chihuly at the Desert Botanical Garden

Dale Chihuly, from Tacoma, Washington, is known for his monumental works of art glass. His work can be found in more than 200 museums around the world, and many of his fans visit Tacoma to see the amazing art glass installations dotted throughout the city and enjoy a stay at the Hotel Murano, which features glass art on every floor. His temporary installations have found homes in places like Venice and botanical gardens all over the world.

The Desert Botanical Garden hosted an exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s art glass creations in 2008-2009. And again, in 2013-2014, he presided over an entirely new installation of fantastic, colorful glass creations, most of them monumental, and all of them complimenting the natural desert landscape. There were boats filled with colored glass orbs, fanciful chandeliers of free-flowing glass forms hung from on high, and soaring scarlet surprises amongst the cacti. These installations proved to bring unprecedented attendance to the garden, and I visited four times to marvel at the glass and photograph the colorful forms.

The Chihuly installation in years past included interesting shapes like spires and orbs. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Even today, as you enter the garden, you will see agave-like glass spires intermingled with the natural plants. These brilliant yellow-green Chihuly art glass creations, from his first installation in 2008, sparkle in the daytime and glow at night.

At the entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden sit the original Chihuly glass spires. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Art Continues at Desert Botanical Garden

At a recent visit, I was surprised to see that the glass spires at the entrance had been joined by a village of rainbow-colored meerkats! And after passing through a gazebo covered with equally colorful frogs, I entered the garden. The Desert Botanical Garden’s newest art installation came from Milan. Entitled “Wild Rising by Cracking Art,” the collections placed throughout the garden included more than 1,000 animal sculptures made from colorful and recyclable plastic. Kids will enjoy both the life-size and gigantic plastic animals and will discover that plastic does not have to end up in landfills—it can be reinvented into something eye-catching and thought-provoking.

Today, fanciful meerkats greet visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Walking, I discovered snails, a huge white rabbit, and coyotes. They were fun to find and almost overshadowed the secrets the natural plantings and pathways held. The installation will continue through November 18, 2020.

This fanciful plastic snail pointed the way to another trail to explore. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Little Secret Gardens

The Desert Botanical Garden has specialty gardens tucked away off the beaten path. On this visit, I discovered the Sensory Garden. At its center was a quietly bubbling fountain, making for an ideal place to rest on a warm summer day.

The Sensory Garden had a bubbling fountain, interesting textures, and plenty of shade. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Nearby were blooming herb gardens and surprises like sunflowers and delicate flowering plants.

These delicate pink flowers contrasted with the stark spines of the cacti. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

My favorite remains the fascinating succulent gardens, where I always discover something new and exotic among the plants. The Desert Botanical Garden is home to one of the world’s most amazing international collections of desert plants, including those with fascinating textures, plants that reach toward the sky like the giant Saguaro cactus, blooming century plants, and more in a natural setting. The gardens are arranged to give visitors plenty of photo ops and surprises around every turn.

This colorful agave plant drew the photographer’s eye in the dappled shade. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Surprisingly Good Shopping

The gift shop is a must-visit because many desert garden-related items are not found elsewhere. There are typical souvenirs such as caps and t-shirts but look carefully. The graphics are excellent. There are children’s books with desert themes and even a collection of desert seeds that you can take home to try growing a cactus. And wouldn’t a jar of prickly pear jelly make a great gift?

These plants had been moved into the shop during the summer season. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

When You Visit Desert Botanical Garden

This visit was in the morning on a summer day. So, guests would need to bring water, use sunscreen, wear a hat, and wear comfortable walking shoes.

Walk the pathways, but don’t forget to look up! Photo by Elizabeth R Rose

Pets and therapy animals are not allowed in the Garden. If you want to bring your dog to the Garden, visit Dogs’ Day in the Garden. And, of course, don’t leave a pet in your car during your visit.

For more “Wow Moments” at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden, see our Spring visit article. And, for more ideas for your visit to Phoenix, enjoy these Valley of the Sun area articles by Wander writers.