Superior, Arizona: The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden. Located 60 miles east of Phoenix, the Arboretum is a haven for plant lovers, photographers, birders, and nature lovers.    

Nestled in the Queen Creek Canyon at the foot of Picketpost Mountain, the Arboretum features plant collections from worldwide deserts, historic buildings, and 11 themed gardens.

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Whether you are planning a trip to the Arboretum or are just interested in seeing it from afar, this post will take you on a journey through its treasury of plants. A Garden Travel Guide to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located at the end of the post to assist you in planning your trip.

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum Main Trail

The main trail through the Arboretum is an easy mile and a half; most of it is wheelchair and stroller-friendly. My number one tip is to walk the trail clockwise; you’ll avoid some trail inclines while enjoying a shady path on the way back.  

Bring your best friend too. The Arboretum website states that “good dogs” are welcome on a leash.

The High Trail is a favorite for those who enjoy a more strenuous hike. This trail is steep and narrow, but it is definitely doable. 

The Greenhouses

Built in 1926, the Arboretum’s first administration building connected two Greenhouses. The East greenhouse features succulents native to the Eastern Hemisphere, and the West wing represents those from the Western Hemisphere.  

Many species are unusual, rare, and sensitive to frost. 

Ayer Lake

Around the time the greenhouses were built, Ayer Lake was created to help irrigate the lower portion of the gardens. 

The Arboretum is a riparian zone, attracting an exceptional diversity of migrating birds. The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is listed as an important bird area in Arizona by the Audubon Society.

Cactus and Succulent Gardens

The first cactus and agave were planted here in the early 1920s. The six-acre garden has 40 rock-bordered beds featuring fifteen hundred plants. Over two hundred cactus species are represented, and many are threatened with extinction in the wild.

The desert plants were beginning to bloom on this mid-April visit. But, regardless of the season, the color palette of the desert sky, plants, and rock is striking year-round.

Beware of Rattlesnakes

Rattlesnakes are a thing at the Arboretum.

I never saw one, but a volunteer cautioned me as I was photographing this cactus bloom not to get so close to the path edge. The snakes like to hide out in the rocky border. For your visit, I recommend wearing closed-toed shoes.

William Boyce Thompson Arboretum History

The Arboretum was founded in the 1920s by William Boyce Thompson (1869-1930), a mining engineer and entrepreneur who made his fortune in the copper mining industry.

After purchasing the Silver Queen Mine in nearby Superior, Arizona, Thompson became enamored with the desert landscape and built a 7,000-square-foot winter home here.

The house was called the Picket Post House of a local mountain range of the same name. Local residents simply called it ‘the castle on the hill.’

A trip to Russia in 1917 changed his life. Thompson arrived just after the Russian Revolution and witnessed devastating crop failure and starvation. The suffering he saw led him on a path to use plant science to help solve global food problems.

So, in the 1920s, he started to work on the 343 acres around the Picket Post House to establish the Boyce Thompson Arboretum for the study and appreciation of desert plants.  

The Arboretum is now honored as Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden fulfilling Thompson’s determination to do good by “establishing the most beautiful and useful garden of its kind in the world.” 

A second Thompson research site is active on the campus of Cornell University.

The mission of Boyce Thompson Arboretum is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of desert plants, wildlife, and ecosystems through education, research and conservation.”

Boyce thompson Arboretum Website

Queen Creek Canyon

Thompson’s houseguests had the luxury of an elevator to carry them from the mansion to Queen Creek Canyon 200 feet below. Now a winding path guides visitors into the Canyon. 

The landscape becomes greener, signaling a change ahead. The rugged Magma Ridge above the creek starkly contrasts the lush vegetation within the Queen Creek Riparian. 

This part of the path gets dicey as far as accessibility. It narrows along this outcropping above the creek. 

This tree-shaded tunnel was welcoming, especially as the Arizona weather was heating up. It felt like a portal to the gardens beyond.

The Arboretum Trees

Mature trees thrive along Queen Creek, dominating the lower garden. Here you will find a wide variety of trees, including pistachios, pines, palms, and eucalyptus.  

The Clevenger House and Herb Garden

This tiny stone building was home to a family of five in the early 1900s.

Robert Clevenger and his family were homesteaders. The family left the area in the early 1920s, and Thompson bought the building and surrounding land.  

The home became a playhouse for the Thompson grandchildren. The surrounding garden was planted with culinary and medicinal herbs, including plants used as insect repellents and cosmetics.

The South African Deserts Exhibit

The South African Desert Exhibit featured statues strategically placed in the landscape.  

The artist, Euwit Nyanhong, is from Zimbabwe. His works are featured in major botanical gardens throughout the world.

The Australian Deserts Garden  

The Outback Bridge crosses a dry wash to the Australian Desert Garden. The Drover’s Woolshed was a surprise at the end of the bridge. 

The Dovers Woolshed was constructed by a set designer in Superior, Arizona, to recreate a remote sheep herder’s shed. You can look through the windows and get a sense of what life was like back in the day.

This sculpture tugged at my heart. As a child, I used that same logic with my mom and got to keep the stray cat that followed me home. 

The Children’s Garden

I always enjoy visiting the Children’s area to see how botanical gardens encourage the next generation of gardeners. It was colorful, whimsical, and invited exploration.

Demonstration Garden

The Demonstration Garden was designed for takeaway ideas. From native plants to decorative hardscapes, these gardens teach how to get the look in a residential or commercial garden on a waterwise budget.  

The pergola in the perennial garden was striking. Look closely at the support beams, then look up and see the windows to the sky. The design elements provided moving art as shadows shifted across the patio floor and walls with the sun’s movement.

The wall of the perennial garden divided the space into two rooms. On the opposite side, the pergola cast its magic shadows on the large sun patio featuring built-in seating and planter beds.

Waterwise plants and natives provided color.

When approaching the mini oasis, the bridge, the walled entry, and the sound of water heightened the anticipation of what was behind the wall.

Wallace Gardens

Over 100 rose bushes from Wallace Garden in Scottsdale, Arizona, were planted in the Arboretum’s demonstration area. A walkthrough of the roses is a beautiful way to exit the garden.  

Gift Shop/Plant Sale

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum offers native and water-wise plants for sale. There are two gift shops at the entrance. Limited food and drinks are available for purchase onsite. Visitors may want to bring drinks and snacks to enjoy in the picnic area inside the garden. Or, plan to have lunch in the nearby town of Superior, a charming mining town with several good dining options.

Other Gardens Nearby

If you’d like a more manicured desert garden experience, be sure to check out the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. It is consistently rated one of the top 10 gardens to visit in the United States.

See you in the next garden.