Visiting botanic gardens, public parks, and private gardens is something I look forward to in each new (and old) place I travel. On a recent trip to Arizona, I spent several hours at both the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson. I recommend return trips to both because there’s so much much to be learned about beauty and diversity of the Sonoran Desert, both on at its surface and below. March is a particularly beautiful time to visit as the color and textures are magnified by cooler temperatures and the remnants of winer moisture.

For me, what makes the Desert Botanical Gardens so interesting is the integration of landscape architecture and design in its exhibits. Simple concrete walls, painted in subtle desert hues serve as backdrops for sculptural acacia trees, a world-class agave collection, and multiple species of cactii. When the sun is low, the changing shade, shadow, and color is magnified throughout each unique space, emphasizing the architectural nature of desert plants. Serpentine seating walls, distinctive and contemporary shade structures, and delightfully subtle water features show just how hospitable the desert can be.

San Diego-based landscape architecture firm Spurlock Poirier won a 2013 ASLA Honor Award for the its design of the entry gardens, earning this comment from the jury.

“This is Desert Modern in the way it makes spaces. It's very sophisticated and connects the park to the Sonoran surroundings. The plants are the focus, beyond the stone edge. The botanical garden achieves a gallery effect with en masse drama.”
—2013 Professional Awards Jury

The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, founded in 1952 on 98 acres of land overlooking the Altar Valley on Tucson’s south side, will turn your concept of a museum on its head. Combining the complete natural history of a single region—the Sonoran Desert and adjacent ecosystems—the museum showcases the ecology of the Sonoran Desert in a manner that is accessible, understandable, and fun. Living exhibits include native inhabitants of the Sonoran Desert, from bighorn sheep and wolves to beaver and trout, as well as numerous gardens, geology exhibits, a world class mineral collection, and even a stingray-petting pool (for Baja enthusiasts).