Arizona's Boyce Thompson Arboretum Acquires 5,870 Plants from Wallace Garden

The Arboretum Now Protects 19,000 Plants; 502 are Globally Threatened

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Mar 04, 2020, 08:30 ET

SUPERIOR, Ariz., March 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Boyce Thompson Arboretum, (BTA) a nationally-recognized desert botanical garden dedicated to the collection, preservation and display of desert plants, is just east of Phoenix, Arizona in the Upland Sonoran Desert. Recently, BTA completed the monumental yet delicate task of transferring 5,870 mature plant specimens with semitrucks from the Wallace Garden in Scottsdale to a winding, trailed landscape within BTA. The Wallace Desert Garden is an example of how a small group of people can help to preserve and protect plant biodiversity. These taxa are scheduled to be revealed to the public at BTA's Wallace Desert Garden Grand Opening on March 28, 2020.

The practice of building boxes around the root structure of large trees and plants was a new innovation in the massive, five-year undertaking of moving a mature garden collection from north Scottsdale to the Superstition Mountains where Boyce Thompson Arboretum makes its home. It has since become a model for landscape suppliers throughout the southwest.

Incredibly, Henry B. Wallace's grandfather and great grandfather both served as Secretary of Agriculture--under three U.S. Presidents. H.B.'s fascination with horticulture flourished when he moved to Arizona in 1987 to start his garden, just as W. Boyce Thompson had done in 1924. H.B.'s garden consists of cultivars, hybrids, and unique varieties of taxa that were replanted within the Arboretum's sprawling 353-acres in the shadow of Picketpost Mountain.

In 2014 the H.B. Wallace Foundation proposed moving their garden to BTA to save the unique collection. "Our Board was thrilled to be able to acquire the Wallace Desert Garden," said Jay Ream, chair of the BTA Board of Directors. Lee Brownson, executive director of the Wallace Desert Gardens Foundation, proposed that the Foundation would spend millions to pay for the move, and Brownson led the effort to transfer more than 1,600 species from Africa, North and South America, Australia, the Arabian Peninsula and Madagascar.

According to BTA Executive Director Lynne Nemeth, "We know habitat loss and drought are the key reasons cacti face extinction. Boyce Thompson Arboretum's goals include recovering endangered desert species and using our botanical expertise to protect these plants." Forty-seven years ago, when the Endangered Species Act was signed to prevent plant and animal extinction, Boyce Thompson had already recognized this biodiversity danger and had acquired hundreds of plants for his arboretum. Today, other leaders like these two remarkable conservationists can participate by getting involved as members of Boyce Thompson Arboretum at btarboretum.org/wallace. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN47DjMK_HQ

For more information contact Ellen Bilbrey (602) 432-7941 or [email protected]

SOURCE Boyce Thompson Arboretum