Southwest botanical gardens have reshaped their grounds as living museums for stunning—and challenging—contemporary art. Discover seven culture-filled desert oases.
At Southwest botanical gardens with contemporary art programs, shifting seasons and exhibitions mean there’s always something fresh to explore.
Several regional botanical gardens and arboretums have robust arts and culture offerings, including temporary exhibitions of works by local, national, and international artists, and also art classes, arts festivals, artist talks, and more. Together, they provide myriad ways for locals and tourists to enjoy nature, art, and a sense of community.
“We’re used to thinking of museums and galleries as exhibition spaces, but botanical gardens are bringing art to communities outside of traditional white-box spaces,” reflects artist Laura Spalding Best, who brings years of experience at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art to her role as senior director of exhibits for Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.
“Art expands the ways people can relate to the garden, where there are so many connections to form, color, texture, and line,” explains Lisa M.W. Eldred, director of exhibitions and learning engagement, and head curator of art, at Denver Botanic Gardens. “Sometimes art is a gateway for people to experience nature, but we also have people come for the natural setting then discover how much they love the art.”
We’re moving into a time when more innovation is happening [at botanical gardens].
Often, botanical gardens take a multidisciplinary approach to their creative ventures, combining elements of art with science, cooking, or other fields. For example, when Denver Botanic Gardens presents Nourished: Works by Jazz Holmes (September 27, 2025–March 22, 2026), the artist will share some of her own recipes rooted in her Creole heritage.
“We’re moving into a time when more innovation is happening,” says Spalding Best, noting that numerous gardens are presenting contemporary art in a wide range of mediums now, rather than focusing on traditional sculptures or land art. Visitors to DBG in Phoenix will see billboard-size monitors embedded among the plants, for example, once the Desert Pulse exhibition opens in October 2025. The piece was created using three-dimensional scans of over a dozen sites in the Sonoran Desert.
Recently, the Phoenix garden presented Toward 2050, a public engagement project by local artist Ann Morton that featured a nearly quarter-mile contemplative walk through a labyrinth made with hundreds of fabric flags created by people responding to climate change. “What’s really exciting,” says Spalding Best, “is working with contemporary artists who are making work responding to our times now and creating ways to involve the community.”
Here’s a look at seven botanical gardens and arboretums located in the Southwest with fittingly lush contemporary art programming.
Arizona
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix
dbg.org / @dbgphx
Desert Botanical Garden has a dedicated art gallery plus additional exhibition spaces, as well as permanent outdoor sculptures, art and photography classes for adults, and arts and crafts classes for youth. The venue presents temporary and touring exhibitions with local, national, and international artists.
The Leaf Connection, which features Mary Meyer’s botanical sculptures inspired by plant data from community members who share their findings through a digital platform, continues through August 24, 2025. In October 2025, they’ll open the Desert Pulse exhibition created by London-based ScanLAB Projects.
Tucson Botanical Gardens
tucsonbotanical.org / @tucsonbotanical
Tucson Botanical Gardens rotates temporary exhibitions featuring local to international artists who center plants and nature every three to six months within its four indoor galleries, and also presents art in outdoor spaces, a spring art sale, creative classes for adults, and family-friendly arts and crafts.
Explore interactive sculptures by Tucson-based artist Joe Benedict in Beautiful Spirit: Art in Motion through August 3 this year. The Quilts in the Garden exhibition takes place from July 8 to August 31. Frida’s Garden, a new permanent exhibition, is designed to recreate the essence of La Casa Azul, the house in Mexico City where Kahlo grew up and later lived with fellow artist and husband Diego Rivera, is scheduled to open in fall 2025.
Colorado
Denver Botanic Gardens
botanicgardens.org / @denverbotanic
Denver Botanic Gardens has 4,000 feet of indoor exhibition space that includes several galleries, and also offers artist residencies, curator-led conversations, art at the garden tours, and art classes.
You can see Blue Grass, Green Skies: American Impressionism and Realism from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through September 14, 2025, and Contemporary Fibers: Botanicals through September 28, 2025. Upcoming exhibitions include Nourished: Works by Jazz Holmes and Agave: Symbol and Spirit (September 27, 2025–March 22, 2026), and Xochimilcoi: Works by Eduardo Robledo Romero (October 11, 2025–March 22, 2026).
New Mexico
Santa Fe Botanical Garden
visitsfbg.org / @santafebotanicalgarden
Santa Fe Botanical Garden has an art trail featuring outdoor sculptures by numerous artists, which typically changes yearly and presents various art activities. The garden also holds an annual Native Arts Festival and Market benefiting Native artists, the Institute of American Indian Arts Scholarship Fund, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, and SFBG.
Elements of the Earth: Contemporary Native Sculpture is on view through April 2026. Here is a comprehensive guide to gardens of Northern New Mexico, with more information on Santa Fe Botanical Garden.
Texas
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
dallasarboretum.org / @thedallasarboretum
Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden presents an annual Artscape festival, adult and family art workshops, and sculptures in its Women’s Garden.
Summer 2025 exhibitions highlight sculptures and “trayscapes” by Seward Johnson, along with commissioned works by eleven Dallas-based artists. Fall 2025 offerings include Spirit Guides: Fantastical Creatures, a touring exhibition of eight large-scale sculptures by Oaxaca-based artists Jacobo and María Ángeles.
Fort Worth Botanic Garden
fwbg.org / @fortworthbotanicgarden
Fort Worth Botanic Garden presents temporary exhibitions, sculptures along garden pathways, adult art classes, and creative activities for youth.
The Cracking Art traveling show comprising large-scale outdoor animal sculptures made of regenerated plastic continues through September 11, 2025. The Hidden Beauty of Plant Patterns exhibition featuring photography by Texas-based Victor Mozqueda is on view through September 15, 2025.
Utah
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, Salt Lake City
redbuttegarden.org / @redbuttegarden
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum has rotating exhibitions of nature-themed artworks by local and regional artists in its visitor center gallery, adult art classes, and an annual Holiday Open House and Art Fair (taking place December 6 and 7, 2025).
The artwork of Jeanne Hanson is on view in Nature Journeys through July 21. Upcoming exhibitions include For the Love of Nature (July 25-August 25) showcasing the Intermountain Society of Artists, the Chase McCleary Art Exhibit (August 29-September 29), and Glass in the Garden (November 7-December 21) highlighting the Glass Art Guild of Utah. For a considerably stranger garden-and-art experience in Salt Lake City, check out Gilgal Sculpture Garden.
