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The Oct. 10-26 event also includes waling tours, lectures and cooking demonstrations along with a vast array of desert-adapted plants for sale.

By Paul Wolterbeek, Boyce Thompson Arboretum
October 1, 2008

The Boyce Thompson Arboretum's annual fall plant sale is a great place to not only stock up on desert plants but learn more about them as well. The arboretum's annual fundraiser will include a wide range of guided botany tours, lectures and classes, not to mention a huge selection of drought-tolerant trees, agave, cacti, flowers and other plants ideal for landscaping and gardening in the desert southwest.

The arboretum is a research affiliate of The University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. UA employees can get free admission during the sale with a CatCard or other form of university ID.

The sale opens Friday, Oct. 10 with a "Members' Only Preview Friday." The public is invited from Oct. 11 through Oct. 26. The sale is an important seasonal event that helps support the botanical park's mission of botany, education and conservation. It also offers a great chance to stock up on landscape plants and wildflowers.

Opening weekend events include a tour led by Scottsdale author Gerald Rosenthal on the morning of Oct. 11; that same afternoon at 2 p.m. acclaimed Arizona children's author Conrad Storad reads from his award-winning books and will present a colorful slideshow.

Horticulture expert Mary Irish is featured Oct. 18. See the complete event list below, or visit the arboretum's Web site for the complete list of guided tours, lectures and public events.

Annual memberships start at $45, and buying one is the best way to help support the arboretum's mission. Member benefits include a full year's worth of visits, invitations to members-only special events, guest passes and savings of up to 20-percent off during the plant sale opening weekend.

Special events over the next two weeks include:

Australia-Arizona Walking Tour, Thursday, Oct. 9, 1-3 p.m.
Meet Peter Symes, senior curator at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne, for a walking tour through the arboretum's Australian collections to Ayer Lake and along Queen Creek, and learn about water resource and sustainability concerns common to both Arizona and Australia.

Lecture and Tour with Peter Symes, Friday, Oct. 10, 1-3 p.m.  
Symes will present a slideshow and lecture about climate change, water resources and the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne.  

Mesquite Bean Class with Jean Groen, Saturday, Oct. 11, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
The author of "Sonoran Desert Plants and Their Many Uses" will demonstrate how to harvest mesquite beans and prepare naturally sweet baking flour from the hulls. This class is included with regular daily admission, and precedes the author's 1:30 p.m. walking tour, where she'll teach participants about edible and medicinal plants of the Sonoran Desert. Read more about Jean Groen online at plantsofthesonorandesert.com.

Walking Tour with Gerald Rosenthal, Oct. 11, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Rosenthal, author of "Sonoran Desert Life: Understanding, Insights, and Enjoyment," (UA Press) will lead a walking tour to explore the desert ecology of the arboretum.  

Story Time with Popular Children's Author Conrad Storad, Oct. 11, 2-4 p.m.
Bring the kids for an afternoon reading by Storad, acclaimed author of "Don't Call Me Pig," "Desert Night Shift (A Pack Rat Story)" and Life in the Slow Lane (A Desert Tortoise Tale).  

Guided Bird Walks, Oct. 12, 18 and 26, 8:30-11 a.m.
Look for the arboretum's one-of-a-kind hybrid hummingbird or watch autumnal migrants on a two-hour guided walk with Marceline Vandewater.

"Grow Your Own Dinner" Class with the Herb Lady, Oct. 12, 1-3 p.m.
Catherine Crowley will explain how to take "edible landscaping" from decorating the garden to enriching the dinner table, and includes a visit to the arboretum's herb garden.

Q-and-A with Mary Irish, Oct. 18, 10-11:30 a.m.
Got a prickly question about cacti or a thorny issue with mesquites? Irish, who will also be available to autograph copies of her books on desert plant life, will be available for questions, answers and lively conversations about desert gardening.

"Thrillin' Grillin'" With the Herb Lady, Oct. 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Catherine Crowley plans to fire up the mesquite smoker and share some recipes and herb-crusted chicken during her annual "Thrillin' Grillin'" presentation. The session will include free food samples and culinary advice, as well as cookbooks and homemade herbal spice packets available for purchase.

"Plants of the Bible" Guided Tour, Oct. 18, 1:30 p.m.
Mesa resident and Bible scholar David Oberpriller points out palms, figs, olives, pomegranates and other plants of the Bible and shares his knowledge about botany, history and scripture. This easy two-hour tour proceeds slowly along wheelchair- and walker-accessible paths.

Butterfly Walk, Oct. 25, 9:30-11 a.m.
Learn how to identify common species of butterflies and their life cycles on a walk through the Demonstration and Hummingbird-Butterfly Gardens with photographer Adriane Grimaldi.  

The annual fall 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.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum is located at highway 60 milepost #223 near the historic copper mining town of Superior. It is located about two hours from the UA campus via Oracle Road north to Highway 79, past Florence to highway 60, and then 12 miles east to the arboretum's main gate. Daily hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.