We actually took the trip across town to see this garden. If you're in the DFW area imagine Hurst to Richardson; NYC area Brooklyn to Bronx; therefore, not a trivial trip. We are trying to do more outings, so I can exercise more and hopefully recover my health. We've learned from past experience, if you are going to do an outdoor activity in the Sonoran Desert, January is perfect weather. While the natives think January at 70 degrees is 'freezing', us snowbirds think it's glorious.
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| The tree is called a 'Boojum' - a name derived from a Lewis Carroll poem |
Next to the Boojum (which was about 50 feet tall) is a hint of the lagniappe (a Cajun expression meaning "a little something extra"). Surprise! It's a Dale Chiluly exhibition of glass works. According to the Docent we chatted with, Chiluly, the most famous glass artist in the world, loves the Sonoran desert because he thinks the landscape is the perfect setting for his art. The Phoenix Botanical Garden is the only garden to have hosted more than one of his landscape shows, and it has been the setting three times. This is the second time we've seen them in the garden. The directors of the Garden must agree with him since after the first show in 2008 they bought three sculptures which resemble agave cactus.
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| Entrance to the Phoenix Botanical Garden |
I could have taken pictures of the almost unlimited variety of cactus and succulents which are planted in the garden, but I restrained myself. The founding of the Phoenix Botanical Garden started with the happenstance meeting of a Swedish Botanist, who was wild for cactus and concerned about their decimation, and an unusual woman with a strange cactus she wanted to know about. Thus, Gustaf Starck, the botanist, and Gertrude Webster, the snowbird philanthropist, began a drive to "Save the Desert". Their ideas together with a small group raised $40,000 in 1936 (depth of the Great Depression!) to establish the garden. At each step of the way, an important individual has dedicated her/his life to the garden. I first saw the Botanical Garden in 1970, and it was impressive then. Now, 50 years later, it's magnificent. I consider this place to be the top attraction in the City of Phoenix. It's no wonder Chiluly feels this place is the ideal venue to display his famous works. This time there's also a small indoor gallery of some of his pieces.
As always, there are pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jswHYkymPCr6qqtQA
