| rev:text
| - I lived here for 10 years and never visited the botanical gardens before today. And I have no idea why, because it was a beautiful experience.
Definitely leave some time for your visit. We didn't dawdle and it took us at least 3 hours to explore everything (including the gift shop, which is like a garden lover's dream). Every kind of plant was clearly marked and we often found ourselves exclaiming, "I didn't know there were so many different kinds of cactus!" several times.
The paths are wide and very well maintained and the trails are clearly marked and often lead to interesting places to rest or learn about the plants that inhabit the desert areas. We went during the holiday season and the luminaria bags were set out all over the place, awaiting lighting at twilight. During this time of the year, the gardens close at 4 to prepare for this night time event, so remember to consider that when visiting. Visiting Las Noches de las Luminarias is an extra charge (and quite expensive at $30+ a ticket, but some say it's more than worth it. We skipped that part of the experience this time) and popular nights must sell out in advance because we saw several signs letting people know that the event was sold out. Something to remember. Even without being lit, the luminaria bags along the pathways were cool anyway and added to the festive scene. On a side note, who lights the over 8,000 luminaria bags anyway? Yikes!
Overall, the gardens are beautiful and the views of the mountains that surround Phoenix are top-notch. Parking is abundant and free and there are several garden employees that were milling about, waiting to answer questions or to direct our attention to something particularly interesting.
Thumbs up and worth a visit!
|