Spring Plant Sale Continues
Daily through March 30

     Wildflowers are more colorful around the trails and gardens each day, guided walks are daily at 1:00 p.m. and this month is an ideal season for gardening and landscaping. Our spring plant sale continuing daily through March 30 offers a chance to speak with Arboretum horticulture experts while buying flowers, shrubs and trees, herbs, cacti and succulents. If you are not already one of our annual members, please consider buying a membership. Annual memberships are the best way to help support the Arboretum's mission of botany conservation and education, and they have many benefits! Memberships start at $45 and allow a full year's worth of visits, invitations to members-only special events ... and savings of up to 20-percent off during the plant sale. Read more about the benefits of annual membership and obtain a downloadable application form.

      Weekends during the Plant Sale offer opportunities to meet Arboretum horticultural staff and groundskeepers, as well as volunteers from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Master Gardener programs. Do you have specific questions about gardening, horticulture, landscaping or plant care? We have answers! Special events include:

                  * March 22, 23, 26, 29 and 30. "Guided Wildflower Walks." Walk the main trail this week and learn about wildflowers -- our guided tour on Wednesday, March 26, features Christine Maxa, the author of "Arizona's Best Wildflower Hikes." Spring guided flower walking tours continue at noon on weekend days and also Wednesdays. Tourguides are Cass Blodgett March 22, Terry Stone March 23, and Christine Maxa on March 26. Wildflower walks are included with regular admission of $7.50 for adults or $3 for ages 5-12.

                  * March 23, Sunday, Edible & Medicinal Desert Plants." Guided Tour with David Morris. Learn the ways indigenous people of the Sonoran Desert have used native plants for food, medicine and fiber for more than one thousand years.

                  * March 23, Sunday, at 11:00 a.m. "Landscaping Secrets With Tom McDonald. " Master Gardener Tom McDonald owns the Smiling Dog Landscapes Company in Gold Canyon, and will share some of his knowledge and suggestions about Sonoran Desert landscaping. This informal walk and guided tour will explore the Hummingbird-Butterfly Garden, Demonstration Garden and other collections.

                  * March 28, Friday, at 11:00 a.m. "Tom's Top Ten." Explore our Demonstration Garden with Tom McDonald -- owner of Smiling Dog Landscapes in Gold Canyon. What makes Salvia greggii such an ideal landscaping plant for East Valley homeowners... and why are palo verde trees, rosemary and Queen Victoria Agaves (Agave victoriae-reginae) also among Tom's favorite plants for low desert landscaping? Learn why on this informal Friday morning guided walking tour. Bring along photographs of your yard -- Tom will discuss landscaping options and help suggest trees, shrubs or flowering plants idea for your corner of the Sonoran Desert.

                  * March 30, Sunday, at 11:00 a.m. "Basic Plant Propagation" Class with Preston Cox from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Arboretum Horticultural Technician Preston Cox will show several techniques to expand your plant collections through the use of cuttings, seeds, and other methods. Wear your gardening clothes, and arrive prepared for hands-on learning! Cost for annual members is $10, and Non-members $17.50. To enroll and pre-pay call our gift shop staff during daytime business hours at 520-689-2723

       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 landscale 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 in March 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 Spring Plant Sale

     WHERE: Boyce Thompson Arboretum 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 30

     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.