Superior may be known as the home of a world-class botanical garden collection that has grown to more than two miles of walking paths, thousands of plants from desert regions all around the world, and weekend guided tours and special events all year-round.  Daily admission is $7.50 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12, and the Arboretum is an easy drive just a few miles west of town (or one hour due east of Phoenix via highway 60). 

For more complete directions and specific detail about coming events, visit the thorough website:  http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu  The Arboretum has about 3200 plants – many of them native to the Sonoran Desert.  Other collections include African, South American, Asian and Mediterranean plants.  Visitors may picnic under a grove of mesquite trees, walk self-guided nature trails and enjoy a variety of specialized gardens such as the Hummingbird-Butterfly Garden, Desert Legume Garden, and Cactus Garden.  More than 270 bird species and 72 terrestrial species have been tallied as both permanent and migratory residents.
 
Public events throughout the year include the popular Springtime Welcome Back Buzzards, monthly summer “Learn Your Lizards” walks, November Live Music Festival, Thanksgiving weekend Fall Color Festival, and more throughout the winter and spring. 

The Arboretum recently celebrated its Diamond Jubilee, a reflection of 75 years dedicated to fulfilling the vision of founder Colonel William Boyce Thompson.  Born in Montana in 1869, he married at age 30 and moved to New York City where he learned that he had the ability to make handsome profits in mining stock investments.  He also invested in Nevada, Arizona and Utah and by 1906, he had made his first million.  In 1907, he purchased the Magma Mine in Superior which became a huge success.  He continued his activities on Wall Street and by 1917, the dollars poured in by the tens of millions.  During World War I, the Wilson administration sent Thompson to Russia.  To give him proper “credentials,” he was sent as a Lt. Colonel in the American Red Cross.  Thus he became known as a Colonel.  The objective was to convince Russia to stay in the war and not negotiate with Germany.  His mission was a success.
 
After his return to the United States, his interests turned to the 7021 square foot winter home (Picket Post House) that he was building in the Arizona hills near Superior, on Forest Service land with a permit from that federal agency.  He purchased land that the Forest Service wanted and traded that land for 400 acres on which his house sat. 
 
Thompson chose the University of Arizona’s Franklin J. Crider to establish the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on 320 of the 400 acres.  The initial mission of the arboretum was to study plants of desert countries and to make the results available to the public.  Thompson wanted to create the most beautiful and useful arboretum of its kind in the world, and to instill in people an appreciation of plants.  Col. Thompson died of pneumonia in 1930.  More detail about this turn-of-the century investor and philanthropist can be found in the biography “The Magnate” which was recently re-printed by the Arboretum and can be purchased at the BTA bookstore.

Arizona governor Janet Napolitano speaking at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in 2005