New at the Garden

Two new permanent exhibits at the Desert Botanical Garden are officially open and

ready to welcome the spring blooming season: The Desert Terrace Garden and the 

Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal.

The Desert Terrace Garden connects visitors from Ottosen Entry Garden to the Lewis Desert Portal and beyond to the Garden’s Desert Discovery Trail. The stone material used in Ottosen Entry Garden is carried through into the entrance to the Desert Terrace Garden before transitioning to a new stone material and colorful mosaic glass tiles.

The Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal provides a new location in the heart of the Garden where guests will be able to enjoy elegantly designed plantings and shade from an architectural trellis. Plantings feature a cottage-style arrangement of perennials and desert blooming shrubs showcasing sweeps of seasonal color. Glass and mosaic tile capture the subtle green and yellows of the surrounding plants.

From the Lewis Desert Portal, guests may select the eastern path to the Sybil B. Harrington Cactus and Succulent Galleries that are home to the National Collections of Cactus and Agaves or head south toward the Center for Desert Living Trail. The Center for Desert Living Trail also provides a cooling respite from the desert heat.’¨’¨

Both the Desert Terrace Garden and Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal feature unique sculptural forms, including dense plantings of Dyckia, Mexican Cycads and Agaves. Eight new boojum trees are located throughout the Desert Terrace Garden. These supplement the large, double-headed boojum at the entrance to the Terrace Garden, which was designed to be a prominent feature of the exhibit and has remained in its original location throughout the construction process.’¨

Ten African trees from the Garden’s collection are now prominent features in both the exhibit spaces and are on display for the first time. Included among the African trees are several varieties of Acacia, Colophospermum mopane and an Olea africana. Seven of these trees can be found in the Desert Terrace Garden and the remaining three in the Lewis Desert Portal.  ‘¨

(left) Glass and mosaic tile in the Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal

FUNDING

The Desert Terrace Garden and the Jan and Tom Lewis Desert Portal were funded through The Saguaro Initiative. The Saguaro Initiative is the Garden’s current program to renew and build exhibits, expand education opportunities, provide regional leadership, lay the groundwork for future plans and to continue solidify the Garden financial health. 

Jan and Tom Lewis have been members of the Garden for nearly 30 years, and Jan has spent the past 10 years serving on the Garden’s board of trustees. In 2011, Tom approached the Garden about making a major investment as a surprise for Jan. After many “secret” conversations with Garden staff, Tom revealed the honorary gift to Jan, and they participated on the planning committee. 

The Garden is also the recipient of a significant grant from the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, recognized with the naming of a special fund for plant acquisition and salvage. The new exhibits feature a number of stunning plant specimens acquired with the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation grant.