Desert Botanical Garden - Phoenix

The Desert Botanical Garden is probably my most favorite botanical garden.  I've been there many times, just about every time I've visited Arizona.  Located on the east side of Phoenix in Papago Park, it's a nice respite from the pavement and sprawl of Phoenix.  Ever since my first visit to Arizona when I was in high school, I've been fascinated by the desert.  And this is a great place to see all those desert textures together.  

There are a number of trails that you can wander to explore the garden, some more landscaped and some more wild, some paved and some gravel, like the Sonoran Desert Nature Loop and the Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Loop.  The garden also opens relatively early at 8am so you can avoid the hottest part if the day if needed.

One fun thing, is that frequently they have an art installation set up in the garden and in October 2017, we found Jun Kaneko sculpture throughout the garden. 

Another encounter with sculpture in the garden was the truly fabulous Chihuly glass exhibit, which was lit up in the evening.  This was back in 2009, but the exhibit still travels around the country and can occasionally be found at other gardens.