Flagstaff Arboretum Is Much More
Flagstaff Arboretum is officially known as The Arboretum At Flagstaff, but of course locals simply call it The Arboretum. I'll continue to refer to it as the Flagstaff Arboretum... because that's what I named this web page.
The Flagstaff Arboretum is a 200-acre botanical garden, research station, and environmental education center with more than 2500 species of native plants. One of their several missions is to "help visitors understand the plants and animal habitats of the Colorado Plateau." The Flagstaff Arboretum is located a few miles down Woody Mountain Road, which is off West Route 66. There is no exit off Interstate 40 at Woody Mountain Road. The simple way to get there from town is to go west on Route 66. When we arrived, we paid our very reasonable (cheap) five dollar entrance fee in the Gift Shop and were informed that a guided tour would start at 11:00 a.m. We had timed our visit for that purpose, so we went out and watched the numerous hummingbirds until the tour started.
Our guide was Rollie, a friendly and knowledgeable gentleman who told us of the history behind the grounds and gardens, as well as interesting facts about the plants themselves. He told us of Mrs. McAllister, her summer home... turned permanent home and working ranch... turned tourist attraction / education center / conservation facility. Mrs. McAllister was a summer resident of Flagstaff for many years. After becoming a widow, Mrs. McAllister purchased the Arboretum site, had a residence built, and became a permanent resident in 1967. In 1981, Mrs. McAllister created the Arboretum as a private nonprofit organization, donating the land and buildings... and establishing an endowment. But the trees, shrubs, and flowering native plants are the real
attractions here. Rollie led us through the various themed
gardens, informing us about the many interesting plants, and how
local birds, insects, and He also touched on the 9 foot tall fence that surrounds the gardens to keep the local elk herds from eating all the plants. Rollie (or another equally adept guide) can give you the entire tour, deliver his prepared remarks, answer questions, and keep you going with offhand comments, when you take the tour. He'll give you answers to questions like:
While
we were there we met a few The Flagstaff Arboretum serves many purposes, as I hinted at before. The most surprising is... they serve as a DNA bank for native plants. Flagstaff
Arboretum is a working scientific laboratory, where research is conducted as
the plants are Flagstaff Arboretum is a rich source of seeds. Seeds to be collected and shared with the Forest Service, National Parks, and other federal and state government agencies. Flagstaff Arboretum has more than 2500 high altitude plants growing and reproducing here. It's one of a very few places in the world where these unique plants are nurtured and protected.
Flagstaff Arboretum is worth visiting... at least once each year. The different plants take turns showing off during the season. A Google search using a keyword phrase such as mountain plants will display a variety of resources. Be sure to notice the relevant ads down the right side... those are resources also.
You can also search Amazon for things like gardening books and products. Try a book search such as western gardening.
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animals may interact with them.
tourist groups, a summer class of
grammar school age students, a couple of
university student interns, and three of the gardeners. The
gardeners keep it all looking great for the rest of us to enjoy.
propagated. New educators and
scientists are grown here, as well as plants.
Some
plants are raised and sold at an annual plant sale held in June.
This is a revenue source needed to pay the substantial expenses a
world-class facility such as this incurs. Memberships are another
source of badly needed funds.