Botanic Garden

Opened in 1996, the Botanic Garden has grown to 32 acres of exhibits, and showcases plants from the American Southwest and around the world.

The Botanic Garden’s BUGarium is one of the most elaborate exhibits dedicated to bugs and arthropods in the country.

The Travel Channel cites ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden as one of the top 12 in the country!

Seasonal Update:

Learn more about featured seasonal plants!

Featured on 11/27/24: As pretty as the little flowers of the Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii are from late spring to summer; the unique berries are sure to catch your eye in fall and winter! The yellow-orange fruit contains a single black seed and becomes translucent as it matures around October. Although these fruits are inedible to humans - so far as to be considered poisonous - they do have another use indicated by the common name: western soapberry. When crushed and agitated with water, the berries make a soapy lather which has been used to launder clothes throughout its native range across the southern U.S. and Mexico. It typically is found in stream banks, wood margins, and rocky hillsides - including here in New Mexico!

Being a native species, you can expect that established trees have good drought tolerance. They can grow in a wide variety of soils including heavy clay, silty clay, sandstone, limestone, dry and well-draining, or moist. Averaging between 20-50 feet tall, it can be used as a shade tree or ornamental and the attractive berries provide winter interest as they often persist all the way through until the next flowering season, in addition to providing food for birds who can stomach the berries that we can't. Other native pollinators will love the clusters of creamy white flowers during blooming season, and one butterfly uses it as a larval host, earning it the name soapberry hairstreak. In optimal growing conditions, they may self-seed and can have a habit of forming groves or thickets, so space and/or management in your selected garden should be considered.

Featured on 11/20/24: The bald cypress is a unique, hardy, and long-lived species of conifer. One individual named The Senator, located in Florida, was estimated to be 3,500 years old in 1993. This resilient species is native to the southeastern United States, and is one of the few conifers that is not evergreen. In fact, it derives it common name from the fact that it's needles fall off in the winter - leaving it "bald" after a showing of beautiful red-and-gold autumn color.

Bald cypress are slow-growing, but can thrive in a wide variety of soils and require a hot summer for growth. Even though it's native to wet, swampy areas of the south, it can be surprisingly drought-tolerant. In addition to eating the cones, many bird species use them for roosting and nesting - including large birds of prey. They are considered a low-maintenance tree with easy fall cleanup, so they can be a nice addition to our city parks here!

Featured on 11/6/24: The numerous species and ornamental cultivars of plants in the genus Impatiens means there is something to please every eye! There are over 1000 species of flowering Impatiens originating throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. You may hear them called jewelweed, touch-me-not, snapweed, patience, or simply: impatiens. Ornamental impatiens cultivars are primarily Impatiens walleriana, from Eastern Africa, and Impatiens hawkeri, from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Many species in this genus are known for their exploding seed pods, which is the reason behind the common name "touch-me-not". This method of spreading is an alternative to relying on pollinators and can make them invasive in some areas, but not here in the southwestern desert.

Care for the colorful cultivars of I. walleriana and I. hawkeri (New Guinea impatiens) have some similarities, both need full shade outdoors here. One hybrid using New Guinea impatiens called SunPatiens has been bred to tolerate more sun and hotter temperatures, but will still need some protection in our climate. Impatiens can do well in beds, containers, or hanging pots; but should be protected from high wind. The closer together they are, the taller they will grow; so plan your spacing according to the desired look. 8-12 inches between plants will keep them more bushy and low to the ground. Some fertilizer can be beneficial when they are grown anywhere other than a ground bed, and they will need to be kept in moist soil but with good drainage. Sadly they are neither drought tolerant nor withstand freeze, so outdoor plants should be treated as annuals or potted and brought indoors for winter. With some considerations for the southwest, these popular flowers are largely considered to be a low-maintenance addition for your shady garden!

Featured on 10/23/24: Aptly nicknamed, the hummingbird trumpet has a long, narrow flower: just the right shape for their long beaks! This native plant is an important nectar source for hummingbirds in the western U.S. due to its late season blooms that persist through the hot, dry summers and continue into fall when most other nectar sources are scarce. Hummingbirds average 1000 flowers a day; the advantageous shape also keeps out a lot of competing insects, so the hummingbirds can freely dine on around 250 blooms per plant. Epilobium canum is found mainly in the arid and mountainous areas of most of the western and southwestern states including California, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Wyoming.

E. canum is a slender-stemmed perennial subshrub that can grow to be 1-3 feet tall, and spread about 3 feet wide as well, adding both vibrant color and a hummingbird highway to your garden! It can be used as a drought-tolerant ground cover to cool the soil and root zones of larger companion plants and reduce evaporation of moisture in our arid climate. Able to thrive in poor soils with little water (except while actively growing) and searing temperatures, this desert gem can be a low-maintenance choice here in Albuquerque. It will freeze back in the winter, but the roots are hardy to at least 10ºF. One thing it doesn't like is clay soil, but you can till in coarse sand to improve drainage.

E. canum was once classified in the genus Zauschneria, which has essentially been absorbed into Epilobium. There a few reasons that scientific names are sometimes changed. Advances in science allow us to see deeper into DNA and genetics, and sometimes it's discovered that species that were described separately are actually more related than we thought, or that species that looked very similar are actually quite different! Although renaming species can be a passionate topic amongst taxonomists, it's important that we continue to strive to better understand the world around us - and the best way to preserve it!