Saving Wonderland
To move 6,000 mature trees, shrubs, cacti and other succulents 75 miles from one garden to another is a herculean task, likely one that has never been attempted before. But it is happening right now as the result of an agreement signed in October 2014 to move the entire collection of Wallace Desert Gardens to Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
This project is groundbreaking not just because of its scale, but because of the quality and diversity of the Wallace Desert Gardens collection.
Over a twenty-year period, the collector, H.B. Wallace, acquired thousands of plants from commercial nurseries, private collections, horticulturists, scientists, and from the Arboretum’s Desert Legume Program. He filled his garden with an international palette of arid land plants from Madagascar, Mexico, Africa, South America, Australia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the southwestern U.S.
There are 1,650 taxa in all, 50% of which are new to Boyce Thompson Arboretum’s collections. A number of these taxa are globally unique, meaning they are found at no other botanical garden—anywhere.
Now, we have the opportunity to save them—to save Wonderland—but we can’t do it alone. We need your help.
