Thirteenth in a Series: The Pea Vine Railroad

Boyce Thompson's Marvelous Garden in the Desert

The Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, located just west of Superior in the shadow of Picket Post Mountain, may well contain the world's greatest concentration of arid-climate plants. On 1,045 acres straddling Queen Creek, more than 3,500 moisture-thrifty species from the American Southwest, Mexico, South America, Australia, China, Africa, the Near East, and the steppes of Central Asia have acclimated to a botanical wonderland set amid canyon walls garnished with Sonoran Desert growth. A desert arboretum would naturally be host to cacti. And cacti are here in abundance. Giant saguaros and 15-to-20-foothigh prickly pear plants contrast with tiny pincushions rising only an inch or two above ground level. Hardy specimens grow in landscaped beds where they manifest every conceivable shape: barrel, columnar, chain, prostrate, tree, as well as dangling and climbing. Frost-tender varieties of cacti and other succulents, such as euphorbias, are grown in two greenhouses.

Late in the spring, these thorny residents put on an astonishing show of ornate blooms, some of which last only a day. Night bloomers, particularly, display petaled perfection.

Of special interest are a pair of boojum trees from Sonora, now more than 30 feet tall. Also called cirio and related to our own ocotillo, these specimens are the tallest boojums in the United States. When fall and winter rains are abundant, the annuals appear as if by magic and carpet the arboretum in waves of exquisite form and color: lupine, owl clover, goldfields, phacelia-all so delicate they seem out of place among the huge agaves and saguaros.

Here capricious Queen Creek rises to the surface, flowing between picturesque rock formations to create a sylvan habitat: hardwoods thrive, and pond reeds grow luxuriantly. The trickling water continues for only a short distance; then, like so many desert streams, it disappears beneath the sand. Farther on, the underground flow nourishes a grove of giant Australian eucalyptus trees, behemoths soaring more than a hundred feet high, with trunks at least four feet in diameter. Huge Mediterranean and Aleppo pines, junipers, and more eucalyptus varieties cover the bottomland as well.

(THIS PANEL) A clump of Mammillaria, or pincushion cactus, repeats a delicate pattern and texture in the arboretum's desert exhibits.

(FAR RIGHT, FROM TOP) A native of South America, the Gymnocalycium baldianum cactus produces a profusion of red blossoms. Flowers of Cereus azureus open at twilight. Bright yellow blossoms emerge from Notocactus ottonis.

Garden in the Desert

Continued from page 4 Adjacent to the eucalyptus grove, a collection of Arizona and Mexican fan, queen, sabal, pindo, and windmill palms with fascinating clumps of palmettos scattered among them-create a tropical landscape.

Fragrance drifting down a pathway overhung with olives, African sumacs, and pomegranates leads visitors to the Wing Memorial Garden, featuring dozens of aromatic herbs. Four-and-a-half-foot tansies, each spreading a solid golden crown, and red salvias interspersed between huge boulders form a centerpiece.

On the perimeter of the circular walk grow oregano, thyme, lamb's ear, dill, comfrey, rosemary, and camomile, along with marigolds and lemon-scented geraniums. Climbing roses hide the jagged face of an encroaching canyon wall. A dimunitive stone cottage, partly hewn out of the cliff, completes the rustic scene.

The arboretum's irrigation is accomplished by pumping water from a well into a small reservoir called Ayer Lake. The pond environment attracts birds not ordinarily found along intermittent streams. The stored water is channeled to garden displays. Here and there around the lake, the visitor finds ceramic tiles designed and made by Globe artists Bob and Charmion McKusick and Kathleen Condit. These depict animals and birds that live near or in the water. Visitors may buy similar souvenir tiles in the gift shop.

As a state resource, the arboretum provides everything from guided tours for schoolchildren to research plots for scientists. An important source of income is the annual sale of hard-to-find arid-land plants seldom available at nurseries. Propagated from cuttings and seeds of plants native to many different countries, these go on sale for nine days each spring, beginning the first Saturday in April. Less exotic plants are sold year-round. For visitors to the sale, the arboretum's picnic grounds under towering shade trees serve as a delightful rest stop.

Beginning in summer, 1988, an artistin-residence program has brought wellknown guests to live and work at the arboretum. Diane O'Leary, a Native American painter, was the first. She donated her summer's work, and it will be sold to benefit the arboretum.

For nearly four decades after its inception, the facility was solely operated by a nonprofit corporation, Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, Inc. In 1965 management became a cooperative affair in association with the University of Arizona; in 1976 the Arizona State Parks Board also became a managing partner.

One of the university's research efforts has focused on the jojoba bush, whose seeds produce a fine-quality oil. UofA researchers are also studying ground covers helpful in erosion control. Commercially promising species are evaluated in special plots.

All this is consistent with the concept of the founder, William Boyce Thompson, who envisioned experimental cultivation of drought-tolerant exotic trees and shrubs in coexistence with native plants.

Trained as a mining engineer, the Montana-born Thompson was a curious mixture of promoter, humanitarian, and naturalist. He made his fortune in the New York securities market by acquiring ore-

WHEN YOU GO...

Getting there: The Boyce Thomp son Southwestern Arboretum is three miles west of Superior on U.S. Route 60. Weather is a few degrees cooler than Phoenix's.

Hours: Open 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., every day of the year except Christmas. Admission: $2.00 for adults; $1.00 for children ages 5 to 17; free for youngsters under 5.

What to see and do: Don't miss the annual nine-day rare plants sale, starting the first Saturday in April. The arboretum's picnic tables beneath towering shade trees make a pleasant place for lunch or supper during a day-long outing. Stop in the new visitor center and gift shop; also, watch for completion of demonstra tion gardens in the near future. The mountainside Picket Post House, adjacent to the arboretum, is also open to the public. For more in-formation: write Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, Box AB, Superior, AZ 85273, or tele-phone (602) 689-2811.

bearing properties. Among others, he developed the Inspiration and Magma mines at Globe-Miami and Superior, destined to rank with the country's great est copper producers.

By 1906 Thompson was already a millionaire. With the passing years, he expanded his remarkable success as a financier and entrepreneur. He was finally diverted from his single-minded pursuit of profit and commercial power by the plight of Belgian refugee children after the German invasion of 1914. Responding to the call of Herbert Hoover, he became a generous contributor and effective fund raiser for Hoover's volunteer relief oper ations in Belgium and northern France.

When in 1917 Czar Nicholas was over thrown, Thompson accepted an invitation to go to Russia as a member of a special Red Cross mission. The team hoped to assist not only in humanitarian efforts but

also in maintaining Russia as an ally

Against Germany. Thompson financed much of the cost involved, and his insight and strength of character quickly made him a dominant member of the mission. But he was unable to persuade President Wilson of the critical importance of the events in Russia. When he finally withdrew from further attempts to influence foreign policy, he began to look for other ways to contribute to human welfare.

While walking in the gardens of his mansion in Yonkers, New York, he reminisced about his childhood love of plants. He recalled how his mother coaxed a few wistful sprigs to life in the wind and dust of Montana mining towns. Then, remembering the suffering of famine-plagued Europe and considering the population growth foreseen in the United States, he decided to build a research laboratory to "help with definite things...deal with plant physiology, with germination, parasites, plant diseases, plant potentialities."

This was something nonpolitical he could do for the benefit of mankind.

On nine acres near his Yonkers home, he dedicated the Boyce Thompson Insti tute for Plant Research in 1924. It is now located on the campus of Cornell Uni versity in Ithaca, New York.

Meanwhile, Thompson was spending more and more time in Arizona, not only because of the importance of his thriving Magma mine but because he loved the desert surroundings and was excited by plans for his new home, Picket Post House-to be built on a craggy site 200 feet above Queen Creek.

With the New York institute launched, he decided to start a sister research organization in Arizona that would concentrate on the introduction and study of drought-tolerant vegetation from all over the world. Planting the first specimen at the new Queen Creek site, he tapped its foliage with his cane and exclaimed, "I christen you as the first of my friends to be taken from the wild and given the care you deserve."

While Thompson directed the arboretum's design, workmen were completing his new residence. From its parapet walls he could survey his developing realm.

The nonprofit arboretum corporation was created in 1927; two years later, the facility was dedicated.

Although Thompson devoted much of his time in winter to his beloved Arizona project, he was not destined to see its maturation. After an operation, his health slowly failed, and on June 27, 1930, this unusual and great-hearted man died.

Now, 59 years later, the arboretum has recently been given a new look with the construction of a visitor center that combines a bookstore, exhibit space, and plant nursery with new offices. An addi tional complex scheduled for the future will include an auditorium and other facilities to serve the public.

Below the visitor center, newly designed demonstration gardens are arranged in ovals and in free forms. An unusual meadow display adds an appeal ing highlight. Special lanes for the hand-icapped and a "hands on" nature trail are provided for visitors.

The founder would have been pleased with the stewardship of his legacy.

Selected Reading

Desert Plants, the quarterly of the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum.

The Magnate, by Hermann Hagedorn, Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, Superior, AZ, 1977.

Willis Peterson recently retired from a long career as a photography instructor at Glendale Community College.