Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix

It was a long day - we hiked in Sedona (click here to see - Sedona - Cathedral Rock hike) and stopped to explore Jerome on our way back to Phoenix (click here to explore - Jerome AZ, the town with a story...). So the next day we decided to take it easy and enjoy something within the city. We chose the Desert Botanical Garden as it promised a lot to see. As the spring season begins to bloom, the Desert Botanical Garden is transformed into a wonderland of vibrant colors and unique desert flora. The garden's 140 acres of stunning landscapes and winding paths provide the perfect backdrop for a day of exploring and appreciating the beauty of the desert. In late April, the garden is in full swing, with a variety of plants in bloom and wildlife making their presence known.

 

Honestly, I had no idea the desert could be so colorful and full of flowers. But I think it was the best time visiting the place. Almost every prickly plant was showing up with the blooms of every color - white, yellow, pink, red, purple and all in between...

But there were also a lot of thorns too ;) So be careful if you walk there, you can easily be hooked by some green bandit ;)

The Prickly pears flowers were mostly yellow, just as you can find in Colorado, but much larger  compared to their Colorado brothers.

There was one plant that I really wanted to see in person. I've seen it in the pictures, but never in real life. And... I have to say it didn't disappoint me - I am talking about Teddy Bear Cholla. It looks so cute and furry, that I had a hard time not petting it.

 

Don't be fooled by the appearance - this Cholla has a lot of thorns. Long and sharp. But... still... isn't it beautiful???

The desert flora is all about cacti. All shapes and sizes. And these, shaped as balls, were just gorgeous.

We also visited the Butterfly Pavilion where over 600 butterflies were flatter around us. Not all of them allowed us to take pictures, but Zebra Longwings were happy to spread their wings and show themselves ;)

These cacti caught my attention as we hiked in Saguaro National Park. It's no wonder they have thorns, right? But what about hooks? Big, thick, strong hooks you can fish with? In the Botanical Garden we learned their name - Fishhook Barrel, which suits it well.

 

But we didn't expect to find such delicate and fragile flowers on top of this prickly monster!

And fruits that look just like little pineapples ;)

This one has no prickles but such interesting hairy leaves' edges...

 

Another Teddy Bear Cholla... with some saguaros in the background. Nice combination, huh?

- Cooooomooon! Coooome heeeereeee! The freeesh waaaaateeer!

This Bunny Ear Cactus stopped us dead. We couldn't believe what we saw ;)

Most of the flowers on these cacti were either yellow or purplish red. But this one was a combination of both - yellow with some purple on the edges. Fancy!

It looks so soft and nice, with a circle of red flowers on the top of the head... But be careful and don't touch it if you don't want to spend an hour removing the thorns off your fingers (believe me, I am speaking from experience and not the pleasant one ;) )

Love this Prickly Pear with red flowers. It looked absolutely amazing!

This Cholla with flowers of glowing burnt orange color was stunning!

It was, probably, the largest Prickly Pear we saw. I'd like to see it in the fall, when it'll be covered with purple fruits...

I have no idea what they did to this saguaro... I bet it's most photographed saguaro in the Botanical Garden though ;)

Julia Heliconian Orange butterfly was the second friendliest to the photographer in the Butterfly Pavilion, so let's end our tour with its portrait ;)

Pictures were taken on April 30, 2023.