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The Desert Botanic Garden is located in Arizona just 20 minutes from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. 140 acres make up this collection of over 50,000 plant displays showcased in beautiful outdoor exhibits.
We were fortunate enough to visit the Garden during the Chihuly Exhibit (which will return December 3rd, 2021). This exhibit features the exquisite glass-work of Dale Chihuly.
The Ottosen Entry Garden serves as Desert Botanical Garden’s grand lobby and features dramatic displays of cacti and succulents designed to showcase the beauty and diversity of desert plants and set the stage for your Garden experience.
Four small gardens lie within the Ottosen Entry Garden: the entry, terrace, basin and canal gardens.
We timed our visit to the Garden perfectly. We arrived about an hour and a half before sunset so we could enjoy a variety of lighting displays: sunlight, twilight, and darkness.
Make sure to visit the Marshall Butterfly Pavilion, where you will find an abundance of butterflies fluttering around a lush and colorful habitat.
As we traveled along the Desert Discovery Loop Trail, we saw even more wildlife along the path.
Dale Chihuly’s beautiful work continued along the Sonoran Desert Nature LoopTrail.
This was one of our favorite pieces of work in the exhibit. We called it “Fireball in the Desert”.
The sun began to set, creating stunning shadows on the surrounding mountains and cacti.
The glass work took on a whole new dimension when the sun went down and the accent lights came on. It was like walking through the garden for the first time, again!
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Desert Botanic Garden. We greatly appreciated all of the volunteers stationed throughout the Garden to share their knowledge with guests. We strongly recommend a visit if you are in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. It makes for a relaxing few hours! For hours of operation and to learn more about Desert Botanic Garden, click here.
The Garden is open rain or shine, seven days a week, year round except for July 4, Thanksgiving Day and December 25. TIP: Garden admission is FREE the second Tuesday of every month from 8 am – 4 pm.
Desert Botanic Garden partnered with Forget Someday to provide us with a complimentary admission. The experiences shared in this review are an honest representation of the beauty we encountered during our stroll through the garden!
Click here to learn more about how we spent a week in Scottsdale and please feel free to download our Scottsdale/Phoenix Destination Guide for quick reference to help with planning your own Arizona getaway.