GETTING
AWAY
Desert Botanical Garden
By Rebecca Antioco
Tucked away on 145 acres in Phoenix’s Papago Park, the Desert Botanical Garden
is a delight to visit any time of year. Each season brings new sights, events
and experiences. You can enjoy Agave on the Rocks, Music in the Gardens and Breakfast
with Butterflies in the spring; summer brings nighttime flashlight tours and
pre-school planting parties. Pumpkins, new plants, more music and butterflies,
Corks and Cactus arrive in the fall. And with 50,000 desert plants on display
— 169 species of them rare, threatened or endangered — and exhibits changing
all the time, the garden never looks the same twice.
This winter, with the arrival of Dale Chihuly’s renowned glass sculptures, the
garden will take on a physiognomy heretofore unseen.
“This is Chihuly’s first exhibition of his works in a desert environment,” explained
garden director Kenneth J. Schutz, “I am excited to see his work, with its colors
and textures, placed amid the amazing palate of our desert plants.”
The sculptures will be installed in 15 different areas around the gardens. A
30-foot-tall Neon Tower will rise along the Harriet K. Maxwell Desert Wildflower
Trail and Chandliers will hang over the new Sybil B. Harrington Cactus & Succulent
Galleries.
The exhibit coincides with the garden’s annual holiday festival, Las Noches de
las Luminarias, adding a new dimension to an already stunning event. Strolling
among the illuminated sculptures and more than 7000 hand-lit luminarias, listening
to a musical performance while sitting next to a warm fire with a glass of wine
or cider — is there a better way to get into the spirit of the season? There’s
no way to know for sure unless you visit again in the spring… or the summer…
or the fall.
Photo courtesy of Desert Botanical Garden
If you go:
Desert Botanical Garden
1201 N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix
480-941-1225
dbg.org
Chihuly: The Nature of Glass
November 22 to May 31
Reservations are required and will be taken for
three admission periods: 8 a.m. to noon, noon to
4 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m.
Non-member admission: Adults, $15; seniors, $13.50;
students ages 12 to 18 and college students with
ID, $7.50; children ages 3 to 12, $5; children
under three admitted free. Members are admitted
free, but must have a reservation.
Las Noches de las Luminarias
Select nights, November 28 to December 23
5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $20 (members), $25 (non-members);
children ages 3 to 12, $10 (members), $12.50 (non-members);
children under three admitted free.
