Tucson Botanical Moorish Garden Photo © Alice Joyce

Located in the very heart of the city, the Gardens comprise an engaging layout of designed spaces where you’ll experience visual delights while taking in the enlightening educational aspects of each area. Near the Gardens Gift Shop you’ll encounter the Porter Patio Garden which surrounds the former home of Bernice and Rutger Porter. Look for mature specimens of olive, myrtle, pomegranate and citrus in this welcoming spot.

Tucson Botanical Patios Photo © Alice Joyce

After you’ve observed the fascinating Chrysalis Exhibit, and enjoyed the serene Zen Garden, you’ll be drawn toward the Sensory Patios, with their colorful architectural and auditory elements, melded with fragrant textural plantings to awaken all the senses.

Tucson Botanical Aloe Ferox Photo © Alice Joyce

As you might expect in a gardenscape located in the desert SouthWest, the Botanical Gardens have a mission to educate visitors to the need for responsible  water use. In this serene setting, you’ll see a host of demonstration gardens:  Blooming plants that thrive in Tucson are highlighted in the Wildflower Garden; a Shade Garden lends ideas for appropriate regional plant choices; the Backyard Bird Garden suggests ideas for attracting hummingbirds, cardinals and quail to local landscapes; an Iris Garden filled with bearded varieties blooms in April.

Tucson Botanical Gardens Photo © Alice Joyce

The Gardens are arranged amid inviting, meandering pathways where you’ll find yourself wanting to slow down and explore interesting vignettes emerging round each turn.

Tucson Botanical Sensory Fountain Photo © Alice Joyce

Fountains add to the ambiance as you stroll through the Sensory Patios….

Butterfly Magic Tucson Botanical Gardens Photo © Alice Joyce

Visit the Botanical Gardens from October through the end of April each year for entree to the ‘Butterfly Magic‘ exhibit: a tropical greenhouse pulsing with the activity of exotic butterflies that will take your breath away.

Tucson Botanical Gardens Cactus and Succulents Photo © Alice Joyce

Arrays of cacti and succulent species are arranged in a geographic layout to illustrate plants from desert regions worldwide. Notice the sculptural rocks and beautiful mineral specimens, adding to the beauty of the hardscaping.  Continuing the desert garden theme, water-savings ideas for the home are presented in the Xeriscape Demonstration Garden.  In a 5 & 1/2-acre landscape overall, the Botanical Gardens present an enticing destination for nature lovers planning a tour of Tucson.

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show: Savanna!

At the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show Gala Party – 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 24th – the John Greenlee-designed display garden – Savanna! – will be raffled off to benefit the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.

Design by John Greenlee – - Installation by Rock & Rose Landscapes & John Greenlee & Associates

Gala Sponsor: Pacific Nurseries

Lush and exotic, Savanna! creates a mesmerizing, atmospheric horticultural experience, enveloping you in a verdant sub-tropical abundance. “Rustling reeds and gargantuan grasses” represent a fabulous palette of plants donated by Suncrest Nurseries; Palms provided by Tree Movers.

On the opening day of the 2012 San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, I had a chance to talk with John Greenlee about the Savanna! project. Author of the acclaimed best-seller, The American Meadow Garden, designer and nurseryman Greenlee placed the garden’s value at $25,000. Quite a coup for the fortunate winner winner of the raffle, who will have John’s help in reassembling the garden.

“Even if you have a small garden and do not have room for the entire exhibit,” Greenlee is encouraging. “You can have a small grass savanna moment … use what you need, and donate the rest to the Botanic Garden or another worthy institution.”

To purchase tickets, visit San Francisco Flower & Garden Show web site and click on Gala in the Gardens!

Greenlee Design: Savanna!

You won’t want to miss the show to experience an additional element adding impact to the installation: The engaging background soundscape, designed by the ever-creative imagination of Hugh Livingston of  Livingston Sound.

Marcia Donahue Sculpture

Look for Marcia Donahue’s sculptures, emerging throughout the garden’s dense plantings.

]]> http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/john-greenlee-savanna/feed/ 0 http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/arizona-inn-respite/ http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/arizona-inn-respite/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:48:16 +0000 Alice http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/?p=5583 Continue reading Breathing Space: Tucson’s Arizona Inn]]> The Arizona Inn provides the same welcoming retreat that travelers to Tucson have enjoyed since the 1930s.

Although the historic 14-acre property now features all mod cons – contemporary amenities that seem so necessary, I wonder how I functioned without wi-fi – the hotel accommodations and landscaped gardens have retained a genteel quietude and gracious ambiance guests associate with the notable surroundings.

Arizona Inn Vignette Photo © Alice Joyce

Arizona Inn Main Courtyard Photo © Alice Joyce

From JFK to Salvador Dali, Frank Lloyd Wright to Ansel Adams, this desert resort has long hosted illustrious guests drawn to Arizona’s glorious blue skies and an aspect of privacy .

Understated and elegant: Paintings and prints, antiques, crafts and artisan furnishings distinguish all public areas; the restaurant, bar, and inviting library with its wood-burning fireplace.

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A favorite place for movie stars to unwind in the hotel’s early years, the Inn has developed a unique DVD collection featuring a trove of films starring guests who stayed here prior to 1960: Film Noir to Comedies with Cary Grant and Clark Gable, Theresa Wright and Katherine Hepburn, to name a few. I gladly dipped into the movie library when a windy weather system came through to squash my plans for a game of croquet on the main lawn. Perfect entertainment and fun to watch Hitchcock’s 1943 film, ‘Shadow of a Doubt.’

A great friend of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the Inn’s founder Isabella Greenway is celebrated for her full and prolific life, including the legacy of the Inn. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the family-owned Arizona Inn regularly receives such accolades as the Conde Nast Traveler Gold List and Travel and Leisure’s Top 500 Hotels in the World.

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Not difficult at all to imagine mid-century film stars lounging round the pool, a chilled martini in-hand.

Comfy and inviting whether indoors or on the patio, the bar offers its own menu from late morning through the evening hours. I love the option of a meal whenever I’m inclined, often between lunch and dinner hours.

Talking with one of the head gardeners, I learned that some of the oldest plants in the Cactus Garden had succumbed from an abnormally cold recent winter. Strolling around, I found the roses beginning to bloom, with plentiful annuals adding color to the gardens. Mature trees add to the tranquil atmosphere of this iconic southwest destination hotel.

Afternoon Tea Photo © Alice Joyce

Complimentary afternoon tea in the library – complete with clotted cream, finger sandwiches, and delectable pastries. Quite possibly I’m an Anglophile at heart, because this tradition won me over completely.