This is pictures from my tour of Boyce Thompson Arboretum, just northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. Enjoy!! All pictures were taken by myself. This trip was in the springtime, I'm guessing it was mid April.


Euphoria Rigida




Beautiful Wildflowers in Bloom





A beautiful display of various colors and textures of desert cactus and agave.


Beautiful Octopus Agave.








The Pictures above show representation of an old Australian Cattle Ranch. It is placed in amongst all the native Australian plants at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum.




Beautiful paths of Golden Barrel Cactus.






I've always been intrigued by the Bojum Tree. Such and odd, and amazing looking plant.




The pictures above are of the Boyce Thompson mansion, that sits on a hill and overlooks all of his gardens below. To the right of what you see as the manion use to be a three story tower that went from the 2nd floor up. There was an elevator in this tower that went straight through the bedrock down to lower canyon where Queen Creek runs. That tower was destroyed in a fire in the mid 1900's as I recall. The home was owned by the National Park Services up to a couple of years ago, at which time it was sold to a private individual. What a shame. I would have loved to have one day been able to tour it and look out it's beautiful windows and see the Arboretum below.




Fun Cactus...loved them!





The pathway exiting the Boyce Thompson Arboretum...

There is so much very more to see, I barely touched on anything, a real treat and must see if you are in the Metro-Phoenix area.

The whole tour is about 2 hours if you follow the whole trail. Were your good walking shoes.

I am drooling!! How wonderful. By the way, I proposed your picture of Fouquieria columnaris for the Plant database!
I also saved some of the pictures to help me plan my succulent area. Thanks for posting these!!

I also proposed the image of the row of Golden Barrel Cactus for the database. Great shot!!

Those Golden Barrel Cactus are beautiful. What a great place.

Hetty, I am not sure I know what you mean..."I proposed your picture of Fouquieria columnaris for the Plant database!". I know about the plant database, but do I need to do something when you propose something?

Alan, it goes automatically to the people who approve pictures (in most cases, Dave), and you will be given an acorn if it gets accepted (which I can't imagine it wouldn't!). So no, you don't need to do anything. It's a great shot of a very rare plant.

I noticed that picture of the Bojum is messed up at the bottom. I don't know if it copied from the CD that way, or if there was an error in coping it. When I have time (next week I am on vacation), I will go take a look at the copy on disk and see if it is a better copy.

extranjera said:Those Golden Barrel Cactus are beautiful. What a great place.

Jonna, I am trying to do that clumping/grouping of golden barrel cactus in my yard, underneath a beautiful multi-trunk Desert Museum Palo Verde. It's taking some time, as they don't produce babies very often, and even to start them as babies, they are a bit pricey, at $7 to $8 each for a 6 inch golden barrel cactus. One day I will get there But I just love that golden splash they make clumped together like that.

I have one big one and two small ones and will definitely group them together. Always on the lookout for more, too!!

Mine were about 8 years old before they got big enough, and started putting out babies, they were doing really well until I did the re-landscape project last year, and all the golden barrels had to be dug up and re-transplanted. No babies since. But I would think in a year or two, they will be established and putting out babies again. Mine are about as big as those in the pics above now. They are 20 years old. They probable would have grown faster with a little extra summer water. Especially with the drought we have been having over the past several years. But, trying to be as conservative as I can, I have gave them no extra water, and they have thrived quite nicely. I think I have some pics somewhere, will have to find and post.

When I bought the house, someone had put down white quartz. To me it seemed so fake and un-natural. Last year I had them take out all the white quartz, and put in a nice desert color, smaller rock size. Really turned out nice, and definitely more natural. I also removed all the grass from my front yard and replaced it with the rock I describe. Next step, to remove the remaining 47 roses from the front yard, and replace them with cacti. I'm working on getting and multiplying a bunch of the new hybrid Echinopsis, and replacing the roses with those, because they come in such deligtful colors, and are stunningly HUGE flowers. Below is a picture of one of them. I can't recall the name of this one. My favorite is Southern Belle, I have three of those in pots to move to the front yard this early spring.

Here is pictures of the west side of the front yard after the re-landscaping. All grass removed, White Quartz removed, Golden Barrels replanted, etc.

Thanks for sharing your photos Alan They are such a delight to see

Alan it appears you and I are on a similar mission. I replaced a part of the yard already with multicolored granite chips, and I found that some of the white quartz that was also left behind here looks quite nice mixed in with the granite, here and there. I will post a picture or two.
What are the two flowering trees you have left in place? I am heartened to see this since I intend to leave two Plumeria trees in place. Here is a picture of the work in progress.
Of course the two big Pachypodiums are staying, and the Yucca elephantipes. Everything else is still open to being moved. I am at the moment creating some undulating hills and hope to have some rocks to display.

This is the small section on the side of the path to the front door that has been finished. Now there are a few patches where the white quartz is mixed in with the granite and it actually breaks it up nicely.

Hi Hetty! Love seeing that small section path I also like that cacti with the leaves right at the edge of the pathway. I think it is the same plant I saw when I was at my inlaws place in Manila..love that plant!

Here is the photo of the one in Manila...you think it is the same? Do you know what it is called?

What you have is Euphorbia milii, mine is a Euphorbia too, but it is a different one. I'm having a senior moment so I can't remember which LOL. There are SO many Euphorbias, all have white sap which is toxic.
The Euphorbia milii (aka Crown of Thorns) is all over the place and I do like them a lot, there are some nice large-bloomed varieties these days, and they are winterbloomers for me which is great since my beloved plumeria go bare at that time! They are pretty easy from cuttings - so we could always do a trade!!

Nice shots, Alan.

I'm not Hetty but since she hasn't popped in .... Euphorbia milii, aka, Crown of Thorns

Oops, cross-posted. I've been doing that all day today.

Is yours E. neohumbertii, Hetty?

Woohooo..I love winterbloomers! Do you leave your euphorbia outdoors in winter?? Sure a trade would be fun! It is starting to get cooler than usual here, we have a cold advisory in the next two days...I hope my tradeable plants will survive :-)

Thanks as well Tee!