Wonderful! Thanks for posting these--you're such a great photographer! I love the place too and always enjoy visiting. It's been two years or so since I've visited the AZ Sonoran Desert Museum, so I need to get down there! I get to Tucson a few times a year. It's always fun to combine the museum with some of the GREAT cactus and succulent nurseries in Tucson. Thanks for the eye candy! Happy gardening all! Grant

Ellen, if you want to have tea there are loads of tea rooms around here that are less expensive. You can walk through the Empress but you don't need to pony up for that expense. La Tea Da in Tillamook is excellent as is Pomeroy House in Yacolt WA (a lovely drive a few minutes from Battleground) Lady Di's in Lake Oswego has tons of English foods and gifts available for sale as well as being owned and run by an English lady. There is the Carnelian Rose Tea Co in Vancouver and the Oregon Tea Garden in Silverton. Windsor House of Tea in Astoria. There is the ANZAC Tea Parlour in The Dalles. I've eaten or had tea at all of these tea rooms. I sell tea and teapots wholesale and they are all my customers. For anyone interested in desert gardens the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix AZ is wonderful. Especially in spring when the cacti and wildflowers are blooming.

late March to mid April is pretty safe to count on, with warmer weather suitable for shorts and tee shirts more reliable in mid April than March. Amount of wildflowers is highly dependent on amount and timing of rains, but the Palo Verdes and Cactus are more reliable for predictable blooms schedules.

I realize that a spammer brought this old post back to the top but I thought I would share a couple photos just in case anyone doesn't realize there are some fantastic botanical gardens in Arizona...These are from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. I go every time I'm in town. I've seen the traveling Chihuly Glass exhibit (photo below from permanent sculpture at the entrance) and most recently the Bruce Munroe Sonoran Lights exhibit which is still going on.....The desert is not all brown and dead. You must get out and walk to appreciate it. The DBG is a top notch botanical garden. The Boyce Thompson Arboreatum in Superior and the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson also should not be missed.