Given Lisa’s love of plants, we had to make a stop at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. This one was really unique and did a nice job of showing off the flora of the Southwest. It was small, but very tidy and well laid out. Highlights for me were the area integrated with working model trains and the cacti of the world section.

Tony’s right – this is a must see for plant enthusiasts. They had one section (Frida’s Garden) devoted to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her love of gardening. “I paint flowers so they will not die.” Her garden at her Casa Azul in Mexico City served as a refuge and inspiration for her. This was neat to see as I am currently reading her handwritten and illustrated diary on loan to me by my friend Renee.

Butterfly Magic was very humid and had lots of Blue Morpho butterflies and displays of orchids.

The model trains, The Great Garden Express, and side gardens like the Yojiro Imasaka and Zen gardens are lovely places to pause and enjoy the gardening mastery surrounding visitors throughout.

Cacti of the world area is most impressive and can be displayed outdoors in Tucson’s cactus-perfect weather. The differences between succulents and cacti are explained. True cactuses in the wild are only found in North and South America with one exception, the mistletoe cactus, and that one was probably spread by wildlife or maybe shipping. Succulents are found naturally worldwide.

There is a gift shop with lots of items and a cafe on site, too. My favorite new plant to see was the Boojum tree. It’s right out of a Dr. Seuss book with the branches coming from all over the cone-shaped trunk. The name was picked by a naturalist in Tucson who liked the Lewis Carroll poem “The Hunting of the Snark”, where a Boojum is a particularly dangerous kind of Snark.