Fall Plant Sale Daily Through October 25
Plants, Lectures, Tours --- Special Guests
October
and November are pleasant months for gardening and landscaping, and the Arboretum's
Fall Plant Sale daily through October 25 is the perfect place to stock up
on drought-tolerant plants appropriate for desert gardeners. Our opening day
featured a presentation by Catherine "The
Herb Lady" Crowley and the final week of this celebration features
Saturday live guitar music with Uno-Dos on October 24 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00
p.m., and guest appearances by landscaping expert Tom McDonald, Sonoran Desert
ecology author Gerald Rosenthal and butterfly gardener Adriane Grimaldi. Times,
dates and complete details are below.
Check
our Fall Plant Sale List to see what we have in stock! Are you among
"Friends of the Arboretum" annual members? Bring your credit card
and plan to shop -- BTA members enjoy savings of 20-percent off during the
plant sale.
What's new
for 2009 with our Fall Plant Sale?
- NEW this year: All-In-One
Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden! Arboretum staff take the guesswork
out of your first Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden. Lynnea and Preston hand-picked
special collections including salvia, buddleia, penstemon and other plants
proven to appeal to hummingbirds and butterflies -- so you can drive home
with a do-it-yourself hummingbird and butterfly garden. What's more, BTA
butterfly tourguide Adriane Grimaldi leads a walking tour teaching visitors
about butterflies on Saturday morning, October 24 -- then as an added bonus
that afternon offers a slideshow and lecture talking about these plants,
and a short walking tour of the hummingbird-butterfly garden sharing her
experience with growing similar plants at her home in the Valley from 1:00
until 2:30 p.m.
For
The Love Of Bonsai workshop Wednesday October 21. Learn the history
of this intricate art form, see colorful photos, and get started with your
own potted Bonsai plant from Arboretum staffer Preston Cox, a certified
Master Gardener and an accomplished bonsai enthusiast. Did you know desert
trees such as acacia and mesquite can be excellent bonsai plants? Preston's
9:00 a.m. workshop requires enrollment of $25 to BTA annual members, $32.50
for nonmembers, and includes a pot and bonsai plant for participants to
take home. Spaces are limited, call 520-689-2723 to enroll and pre-pay.
Our complete list of Special
Events is below.
*
October 21 and October 24: Tom's Top Ten Guided landscaping Walking Tours
October 21 at 3:00 p.m. and October 24 at 10:00 a.m. East valley aspiring
author and landscape expert Tom McDonald, owner of Smiling
Dog Landscapes, is a popular guest at the Arboretum's annual plant
sale fundraisers. The Gold Canyon resident returns this fall to lead walking
tours pointing out "Tom's Top Ten" plants and trees for desert landscaping.
He'll explain why plants you see in our Demonstration Garden are among his
favorite desert-adapted, colorful, charismatic species for Pinal and Maricopa
County landscaping. The author will also explain basic irrigation and water-saving
concepts and answer questions. Bring along > some photos or blueprints
of your yard -- Tom is happy to offer one-on-one advice following his walk.
Bring your kids (or grandkids) too, the new Children's Garden is among Tom's
favorite spots at BTA, and he's likely to showcase that collection on his
walking tour.
*
October 24: Butterfly Walk from 9:30
- 11:00 a.m. Learn to identify common species of butterflies -- and about
the colorful insects' life cycles -- on a two-hour walk through the Demonstration
and Hummingbird-Butterfly Gardens along with Arboretum volunteer and photographer
Adriane Grimaldi.
*
October 24 from 11:00 a.m. til 1:00 p.m. Live Music with Uno-Dos. Invite friends
and plan a Saturday picnic lunch or barbecue in our picnic area -- and enjoy
contemporary guitar jazz by Uno Dos October 24 from 11:00 a.m. til 1:00 p.m.
If you're a fan of the Gypsy Kings and Spanish guitar, check out the Garcia
brothers' acoustic guitar duo (their name translates to "One Two"
in Spanish). They'll offer two hours' worth of sets with selections by Acoustic
Alchemy, Marc Antoine and Peter White - with Brazilian percussion mixed in.
*
October 24: Butterfly Gardening from
1:00 - 2:30 p.m. in the Smith Building Lecture Room. One special element of
our 2009 Fall Plant Sale is the "All In One" hummingbird-butterfly
garden we're selling -- and on the final Saturday of the sale butterfly expert
Adriane Grimaldi will offer a 90-minute slideshow and presentation about butterfly
gardening in our lecture room.
*
October 24 and 25: Gerald Rosenthal Sonoran Desert Lecture and Tour
The final weekend of the Fall Plant Sale at Boyce Thompson Arboretum
includes two chances to learn about plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert
from Scottsdale author Dr. Gerald A. Rosenthal: indoors at a one-hour lecture
Oct. 24, and outdoors on a guided walking tour Oct. 25. Rosenthal, a respected
nature photographer who has spent the past 12 years exploring, studying, and
recording images in the Sonoran Desert, will also be available to sign copies
of his books. Meet the author at his signing table 9:00 - 10:30 am, or during
his lecture at 11:00 am Saturday or the walking tour Sunday. Rosenthal is
the author of "Sonoran
Desert Life: Understanding, Insights, and Enjoyment"
Have you joined
the Arboretum and become one of our annual members? If so, you are already
aware of the special 20-percent savings which Arboretum members are entitled
to during our seasonal plant sales each Spring and Fall. Memberships begin
at just $45 for a couple or $60 for a family. Read
more about annual membership benefits. Other great benefits include invitations
to members-only events such as the star night astronomy parties each Fall
and Spring. Each weekend during the plant sale arboretum staff horticulturists
are available on weekend days to consult with our visitors about plant care.
We stock a wide array of books about irrigation design and other topics...
and all sizes of drought-tolerant trees, shrubs, vines, cacti, succulents
and plants to browse and bring home to landscape and beautify your yard or
garden.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located
at highway 60 milepost #223 near the historic copper mining town of Superior;
45 miles due East of Mesa or about 90 minutes drive Northeast of Tucson via
Oracle Road to highway 79 north to highway 60 east. Daily hours are 8:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. The annual Spring Plant Sale is a fundraising event that supports
programs of Boyce Thompson Arboretum; therefore, admission fees are requested
even if the purpose of the visit is simply to buy plants during this event.
IF
YOU GO....
WHAT: Annual Fall Plant Sale
WHERE: Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a
320-acre Arizona State Park
located at highway 60 milepost #223 near the historic copper mining town of
Superior; just 45 miles due east of Mesa or about 90 minutes drive northeast
of Tucson via Oracle Road to highway 79 north to highway 60 east
WHEN: The sale continues daily during
business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through Sunday, March 29
HOW MUCH: $7.50 adult admission ($3 ages
5-12) to enter the grounds, even if the visit is simply to buy plants during
the plant sale event
FMI: listen to an updated recording about
tours or events by calling 520.689.2811; to check with our staff about whether
specific plants are available please call 520-689-2723 during business hours
daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.