What could be better than a garden with a family history? Maybe a lushly green and scented oasis in a desert?  What if somehow you could have both at once?  You can if you visit Tucson Botanical Gardens:  the 5 1/2 acre wonderland with 17 different gardens that are fragrant in the height of their bloom on a sunny April morning.

Larrea Tridentata "Creosote Bush"

Like people, the best gardens (when mature) are the ones that have had years of consistent loving care in their youth.  Tucson Botanical Gardens is a perfect illustration of this fact.  The site was originally the home of landscaper Rutger Porter and his wife Bernice (a Vassar grad) who married in the early 1930s.  The Porters experimented with native Arizona plants, as well as Mediterranean and south African plants.

Cactus Flowers at Tucson Botanical Gardens

A housekeeper that worked for the Porters, Edna Johnson, planted many trees in the 1940s and 50s, some of which still survive in the gardens.  Later the Porters ran their business, Desert Gardens Nursery, on the site until it outgrew the space and was moved to a different location in Tucson.  By 1983 both Rutger and Bernice had passed on, leaving us the legacy of Tucson Botanical Gardens.

Grapefruit Blossoms

After the incredible fragrances of grapefruit and bitter orange trees in bloom, intermingled with the scents of jasmine and native flowers of desert bushes and cacti, one of the first things you notice about Tucson Botanical Gardens is that there is shade.  The kind of shade in this southwest climate that only comes from long established trees.  The combination of mature trees, lushly planted grounds and adobe walls creates a micro climate in which there are the luckiest hummingbirds, lizards, butterflies and insects for miles around.

Happiest Lizard in Tucson

There is something for everyone at Tucson Botanical Gardens, not just for gardeners.  The variety of trees, perennials, succulents, natives and fragrant blooming vines, climbing roses, cacti almost overloads the senses.  There are teaching gardens as well, such as the Home Compost Site and the Native American Crops Garden.  The Iris garden seemed to be a favorite of the older ladies, while children ran from garden to garden, stopping to look for lizards or watch the miniature train in the Thorneville Garden Railway.

Succulent in Shadows

Tucson Botanical Gardens is open year round from 8:30am-4:30pm year round except for January 1, July 4, and December 24-25.  Treat yourself to some inspiration the next time you are in Tucson.