Tucson Botanical Gardens Review & Giveaway!

 

We are always looking for new things to do whether it is where we live, or in cities we are visited so on a recent trip to Tucson we deiced to stop by the Tucson Botanical Gardens. The botanical garden is a beautiful & peaceful little spot tucked away right in the middle of Tucson in-between some shopping centers & a neighborhood. I like that the botanical gardens not only offer a wide selection of native plants to look at, but they also have a large collection of gemstones, a butterfly pavilion & art exhibits that change throughout the year. It is $15 per adult & $8 for children, which is a pretty good price for the amount of time you'll spend here & everything you'll get to see. On the day we arrived there wasn't a ton of visitors, so we were able to find a parking spot up near the entrance & explore the garden at our own pace without a large crowd around us. Everything is self-guided, there is a map at the entrance you can take a photo of to find your way around or you can just explore and see what you find. In total I would say we were here for about an hour as we took our time walking around looking at the plants & spent quite some time inside of the butterfly pavilion. 

During our visit we were able to see some beautiful sculptures on display that were created by John Benedict. Each piece is made from a combination of steel, copper, glass and other natural materials. It was neat seeing some of the recycled pieces he used in the art including chains & more. The pieces were gorgeous & very detailed, a few of them would be lovely to have in my own garden. The kids really enjoyed some of the critters such as the toad that was wearing a top hat with a little pipe in his mouth. The gardens did a wonderful job at intertwining the sculptures within the gardens, so everything flowed together & felt like it belonged in the spots they were placed. This exhibit is being featured until January 14th, 2024 so there is still a little bit of time to see it before it is gone. 

We were also lucky to catch the La Calavera Catrina which featured Dia De Los Muertos sculptures by Ricardo Soltero as this exhibit ended on the 31st of December. The sculptures were placed into a small, enclosed area in the middle of the garden that made it feel as if you were transported to another location. I loved how many poinsettias were lining the garden in front of the sculptures. Throughout the entire botanical garden, you will find spots to sit down & take a break or just relax and watch any wildlife that might be around. The day we went it was cloudy & raining off and on, but we did still manage to see a hummingbird or two. 

There were so many cool varieties of cactus & other types of plants. I've seen tons of cacti in my life, but some of the cactus they had on display I've never seen. I actually found quite a few different plants & cacti types that I'd love to own and have in my own home or garden. I liked the different themed areas they had including a herb garden where you could touch & smell different herbs like thyme, sage, mint, etc. however because it was raining it made it harder to actually smell the fresh herbs. They also had other areas with food growing, a Zen garden & more. We had a lovely time walking around together as a group looking at everything the botanical gardens has to offer. They have a restaurant on site where you can grab lunch, however we didn't stop in as we had lunch shortly before we arrived. 

I did enjoy walking around and seeing all of the plants on display, but my favorite part was the butterfly pavilion. They had a small area where they had a bunch of cocoons on display with several that had recently emerged & drying out inside of the window. Inside of the pavilion they had some tropical plants, some small pond areas with gorgeous fish & of course tons of butterflies all over including the walls, flying around and even on the ground so you had to watch where you were stepping. The blue & purple morph butterflies were gorgeous, I loved seeing glimpses of their gorgeous colors fluttering around and chasing each other. 

🌼 GIVEAWAY 🌼

One lucky winner is going to receive two day passes to visit the Tucson Botanical Garden. They will be good until the end of 2024! 

This is open to Arizona Residents! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 01/09/2024

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

What is your favorite type of plant?

What theme of sculpture would you love to see featured at the Botanical Gardens?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is easiest if you log onto Rafflecopter using the Name/Email Address option. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Disclaimer- The Tucson Botanical Gardens provided two passes for this review & two passes for the giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.