- Author: JoEllen P Myslik
This past week I had to travel for work to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Although it holds a certain type of beauty – wide open views of grand mesas – it's not really known for having lush landscape. Being an avid gardener and generally a lover of all things green, I wasn't exactly expecting to necessarily be impressed with such an arid landscape.
However, during some free time, my colleague and I decided to visit the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden. We decided this even after a local Albuquerqian told us that if we had ever been to any other botanic garden, we would surely not be impressed with theirs. Having seen quite a bit of sand and mesas, we decided it had to at least be different than that, so off we went with low expectations.
We were quite pleasantly surprised to find a lovely botanic garden, albeit small and not well-attended. There was even a small conservatory that could certainly have one believing there really IS greenery in a hot desert – an oasis! The best treat of all was the Children's Fantasy Garden which is straight off the pages of Alice in Wonderland, and is guarded by a big metal dragon entwined in vines at the entrance. Lots of fun for us adults that visited, so I imagine children would be quite enthralled!
All in all, the ABQ BioPark might not be the reason you travel to Albuquerque, but it is well worth the trip if you do find yourself in the middle of the desert and longing for lushness.
(as a side note, the BioPark also includes a small Aquarium and a Zoo)