The Desert Botanical Garden ushered in a new era of exhibition and display with the grand opening of the Sybil B. Harrington Cactus and Succulent Galleries. These new galleries enable the Garden to tell a more complete story about both its collection and the evolution of desert plants. They feature dazzling displays of cacti and succulents presenting the great diversity of form, texture, and color found in each of these collections.
Designed by landscape architect, Steve Martino, FASLA, the galleries feature steel mesh as the arching canopy to provide shade for the plants, support columns painted in a desert-hued red to accentuate the color and textures of the plants, and take advantage of the vistas that are so distinctly a part of the Desert Botanical Garden experience. The plant displays within each of the galleries were created by landscape designer Scott C. Scarfone, ASLA and will be presented in different modalities – graphical, aural, textual and multi-lingual – to enhance interpretive learning. “Specimen” plants, which can be categorized as the most striking of their species, will serve as focal points throughout each gallery.
The renovations of the Cactus and Succulent Galleries were made possible by a generous gift from the Sybil B. Harrington Trust and a challenge grant award from The Kresge Foundation.
