Tag: gardens

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7 Books to Check Out: New Titles by Tucson Writers

It’s a new year, but don’t miss these books released by Tucson authors in 2025!

undersea mural
Mural by Jessica Gonzales on the side of Antigone Books, Tucson

Order, order!

I’ve included links to order via Bookshop.org, but you can also check your favorite local bookstore.

Fun fact: Most bookstores that sell new books can order just about anything in print, whether they carry it or not. If they don’t have an online shop, call or stop in.

Find an independent bookstore near you. Or order from any of the ones listed below.

If you prefer to browse in a brick-and-mortar shop, I’ve listed independent Tucson- and Phoenix-area bookstores that say they have a particular title in stock. (I didn’t bother which stores you can order these books from, because the answer is any of them.)

Barnes and Noble also had a few of these books available in certain stores, so you can check there if that’s the option closest to you.

 

Urban Trails Tucson book at a desert trailhead.
Via Trails Inspire / Sirena Rana

Book List

1. Urban Trails Tucson

by Sirena Rana

You may know the author from…

Her Arizona Trail advocacy, as well as her photography and writing about hiking and the outdoors.

About the Book:

This book is part of the Urban Trails series, published by Mountaineers Books. It’s a look at nearly 50 trails in Tucson and the surrounding areas. Each trail has a several-page description, along with maps and photos. Even before you get to those, there is tons of information about desert wildlife, Tucson culture, hiking tips, and local pronunciation. There’s a handy map and chart that will allow you to quickly find a trail based on location and length, as well as kid- and/or dog-friendliness.

Formats:

  • Paperback
  • eBook

Find it:

More:

 

Arizona Poppy Shop shelves
Sonoran Rosie book at Arizona Poppy

2. Seasons of the Desert: The Wellness Wisdom of Southwestern Native Plants

by Sonoran Rosie (Rosie Crocker), illustrations by Hannah Davies

You may know the author from…

Their desert plant-based skincare/self-care products and their artist spotlight in my all holiday market post. They are also the owner of Arizona Poppy Shop and founder of the seasonal Desert Air Market.

About the Book:

Divided into blooming seasons, this book helps you identify key plants and describes their place in the Sonoran desert ecosystem. It explains practical uses for each plant and how they can be responsibly foraged. goes beyond helping you simply identify desert plants, it describes their practical uses and even includes recipes for natural skincare, herbal remedies, and other goodies!

Formats:

  • Hardback
  • eBook

Find it:

More:

 

Pink Eraser Art book cover
Pink Eraser Art book by Serena Rios McRae aka Cactus Clouds Art

3. Pink Eraser Art: The Ultimate Guide to Carving Incredible Eraser Stamps

by Serena Rios McRae

You may know the author from…

Serena is a prolific artist in a wide variety of media. You may have spotted her ceramics, stickers, or watercolors at a local market, seen her murals at Hotel McCoy, or watched videos about her process and – often surprising – projects. And I’ve heard her DIY eraser stamps made a big splash on TikTok.

I also spotlighted her new book on my all holiday market list.

About the Book:

Carving stamps from pink rubber erasers is more than just the latest maker trend. It’s about democratizing art, about the freedom that comes with creating using what you have on hand – instead of being limited by expensive supplies.

“…using the less expensive materials is freeing, healing, and I believe will help us gain that confidence in ourselves that we need to trust our creativity.” –Serena Rios McRae

 

Pink eraser art stamped into a book by Cactus Clouds Art
By Serena Rios McRae / Cactus Clouds Art

Formats:

  • Paperback
  • eBook

Find it:

More:

 

Via Western Sky Communications

4. Water Harvesting 101

by Martha Jean Retallick

You may know the author from…

Her beautiful coffee table book, City Nature.

 

“Drought affects all of us. Whether you’re in the deserts of Arizona, the plains of the Midwest, or urban centers like Los Angeles and Atlanta, water resilience starts at home.”

–Martha Retallick

About the Book:

A practical companion to City Nature, this book goes deeper into the how-tos of creating a lush landscape in the desert. If you’re familiar with Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster, then you’ll be aware of concepts like shaping your yard to capture rainwater and reusing gray water. In this case, however, you have the addition of Martha Retallick’s nature photography with text that is informational, but much less dense.

water spouting from a garden hose
Image via Water Harvesting 101 Podcast / Martha Retallick.

Formats:

  • eBook
  • Audiobook

Find it:

More…

 

book: In the Circle of Ancient Trees: Our Oldest Trees and the Stories They Tell
In the Circle of Ancient Trees: Our Oldest Trees and the Stories They Tell via author Valerie Trouet

5. In the Circle of Ancient Trees: Our Oldest Trees and the Stories They Tell

edited by Valerie Trouet, art by Blaze Cyan

A follow-up to her previous book, Tree Story: The History of the World Written in Rings, this time Valerie Trouet has collected stories of trees from all over the world. She introduces the book by explaining the science behind studying tree rings, and then presents 10 stories from other dendrochronologists, each about a tree species that has been important in their work.

It is illustrated by intricate woodcarvings by Blaze Cyan, a British landscape artist who feels especially connected to ancient trees and forests.

Formats:

  • Hardback
  • eBook

Find it:

More:

 

6. 100 Western Women: The Bold, Brave, Gutsy Women of Arizona’s Past

by Jan Cleere

You may know the author from…

The monthly “Western Women” column she’s written for the Arizona Star for over a decade. This is her seventh book – and the fifth that focuses specifically on historical Arizona women and girls.

About the Book:

Each of the titular 100 western women gets a short, biographical chapter in the book. They are grouped into broad sections, such as Pioneers, Innkeepers, Educators, Military Wives, and “The Compassionate.” While it sometimes glosses over the more problematic aspects of the stories, there’s enough good information to make it worth the read.

Because each chapter is adapted from a self-contained article, you don’t have to read them in order. You can skip around or skim the table of contents for names that catch your attention.

Formats:

  • Paperback
  • eBook

Find it:

 

7. The Southwest Native Plant Primer: 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden

by Jack Dash, Luke Takata, Native Plant Society Arizona

“Habitat fragmentation is the global challenge that the average gardener has the greatest ability to help solve… Almost anyone can grow native plants and help knit together the fabric of ecosystems that have been torn apart by human activity.”

–The Southwest Native Plant Primer

The book is part of a series of Native Plant Primers by Timber Press. There’s also one for the Southeast, the Pacific Northwest, one just for Texas, etc.

This particular volume describes the diverse bioregions within the Southwest. Besides descriptions of 235 plants that are native to the region and commonly available, it also includes hints on topics like mulching and choosing annuals vs. perennials.

Formats:

  • Paperback
  • eBook

Find it:

More:

 

bookshelf
Urban Trails Tucson on the shelf at Mostly Books in Tucson.

Of course, these aren’t the only recent releases by Arizona authors. I found lots more at the Stacks Book Club local author list!

As an affiliate for Etsy and Bookshop.org, I may earn commission on purchases you make after clicking one of my links. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and helps support this site. Thanks!

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Free Admission to Arizona Museums with the Culture Pass

Burton Barr library reading tables

Updated May 2025.
Originally posted November 2017.

Over 30 Arizona museums and attractions offer free passes to local library card holders through the Culture Pass program!

Tucson Botanical Gardens
“G’s Horn” sculpture of bronze and living plants by Robert Wick at Tucson Botanical Gardens.

What is a Culture Pass?

Culture Passes are a limited number of free admissions to cultural, historic, and other educational sites in Arizona that libraries make available to patrons. It was created by Act One, a 501(c)3 charitable organization.

Culture pass
Culture Passes from 2017 (old design)

Libraries that offer Culture Passes have a certain number available for each museum, etc.  Different libraries have a different selection and number of Culture Passes that they offer.

long reading tables with lamps and library bookshelves in the background
Great Reading Room at Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix

About 175 libraries statewide and the library districts for 11 out of Arizona’s 15 counties participate in this program.

pathway through desert plants with a mosaic of the Desert Botanical Garden logo
Desert Botanical Garden pathway

Tucson library card in front of a Tucson library

Who Can Check Out a Culture Pass?

To check out a culture pass you must…

  • Be a current cardholder for a participating library.
  • Live in the district (or be a member of the community) that library serves.
  • Be 18 or over.

 

abstract sculptures at Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson
“Measures of Separation” sculptures by Nazafarin Lotfi at Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson

How to Use a Culture Pass

Each pass is good for free general admission for two people on one visit.

Continue reading “Free Admission to Arizona Museums with the Culture Pass”

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Sonoran Restaurant Week Pairings

We’re right smack dab in the middle of Sonoran Restaurant Week, when around 100 (!) restaurants in Tucson and surrounding cities offer special prix fixe menus for $25, $35, or $45 (plus tax and tip). The price often includes several courses that would regularly cost more.

breakfast food
Breakfast at Maynard’s.

The idea is to encourage diners to try restaurants they haven’t been to, as well as revisiting old favorites. You many need to ask for the Sonoran Restaurant Week menu if you’re at a participating place and don’t see one. Find participating restaurants and menus on TucsonFoodie.com.

View of Tucson
View of the city from inside the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson.

I’ve paired 7 of these Tucson restaurants with something fun to do (relatively) nearby that complements them.
Continue reading “Sonoran Restaurant Week Pairings”

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Tohono Chul

Tohono Chul Patio

Crested saguaro at Tohono Chul

Tohono Chul is a nature preserve just north of Tucson. On its 49 acres, you can find art, shops, gardens, a bistro, and lots of paths winding through the desert.

Tohono Chul paths

A Desert Corner

The name comes from the words for “desert corner” in the language of the Tohono O’odham (“desert people”), who were the ancestral inhabitants of this region.

Bee habitat

I’d heard about this beautiful place from my Master Gardener uncle long before we moved to Tucson. For awhile I thought it was called “Tohono Jewel.” It is a gem of a place, so that fits too.

Phillip and I finally made it in there when my parents and their friends who were visiting from the Midwest decided to spend a day in Tucson.

Tree with Lucy’s Warbler Nestbox.
Tree with Lucy’s Warbler Nestbox.

They drove down from Phoenix and met us at the entrance on a sunny morning in February 2020 – when we were all blissfully unaware what the next 12 months would bring.

 

I-10 freeway signs

Routes to Drive from Phoenix to Tucson

Tohono Chul is actually in a pretty convenient location for people making the trip south from Phoenix.

There are two main ways to get from the Phoenix area to Tucson:

1. I-10 Freeway (“the 10”)

  • 1.5-hour approximate drive time.
  • Quickest, most direct route.
  • Tohono Chul is about 15 minutes east of the 10 (exit at Ina Rd.)

2. Highways / Scenic Route (“the back way”)

  • 2.5-hour approximate drive time.
  • Slower, more interesting route through Florence to State Route 79 then to Copper Corridor Scenic Road (SR 77).
  • Tohono Chul is just west of SR 77, so this route practically drops you at its front door.
Large sculpture of a horned lizard.
“Regal Horned Lizard” by Dave Stone.

Art in Nature

Even though the sun was out, it was pleasantly chilly when we arrived. Many of the less cold-tolerant plants in the gardens were covered up because of a freeze warning, draped in sheets like furniture in an unused room of a Victorian mansion.

Cactus wren sculpture
Part of “Two Cactus Wrens” sculpture by Mark Rossi.

Of course, plenty of the cactus varieties there are unfazed by frost. For example, no one needs to cover 30-foot-tall saguaros. Which is good. They take care of themselves and tend to outlive us humans.

Friendly Crested saguaro

Which brings me to my favorite plant we saw that day: a friendly-looking crested saguaro! Crested saguaros have a rare mutation that causes them to fan out at top.

vulture sculpture by Kioko Mwitiki
“Standing Life-size Vulture” sculpture by Kioko Mwitiki.

While we didn’t go into any of the galleries, we did see several outdoor animal sculptures woven throughout the gardens, like a life-sized rusted metal vulture (by Kioko Mwitiki) and a much-larger-than-life horned lizard (by Dave Stone).

During the summer, it would be great to spend the morning exploring outdoor trails and then retreat into the galleries during the heat of the day.

Rock layers

There’s an outdoor geology wall that uses rocks from the nearby Santa Catalinas to illustrate the layers of stone under the mountains.

Moorish garden

The Desert Living Courtyard showcases several types of gardens you could DIY with plants that grow well here, including a moorish garden and a “barrio garden” that replicates a backyard garden space with art from upcycled materials. For each garden vignette, there’s a list of plants and materials you could use to recreate it.

El Charro

More Tucson Gems

After Tohono Chul, we ate lunch at the nearly 100-year-old restaurant El Charro. While there is a much closer location in Oro Valley, we opted to go to the original old building in Downtown.

It was the time of year where the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® happens at the Tucson Convention Center. If you don’t have time for the massive, main show, you can get kind of a sampling at dozens of smaller gem shows that spring up around it.

Hub ice cream parlor

I knew that we’d be in walking distance of Hotel Tucson City Center, which had its own free, open-to-the public show with 300 vendors selling minerals and fossils on their property.

Before our guests returned to Phoenix, we took a drive around Downtown, stopping for ice cream at HUB.

 

Butterfly

Everything Changes

I’m extra grateful we happened to go on that day a year ago, just before a certain coronavirus would shut everything down, when 2020’s dumpster fire was only a spark.

After being closed for months, Tohono Chul has reopened 7 days a week with pandemic precautions in place (details below).

Many Downtown Tucson restaurants are open for takeout. El Charro is celebrating its 99th anniversary with a special menu. HUB Ice Cream Parlor has remodeled and now has a walk-up window.

While the main Tucson Gem & Mineral Show® has been canceled for 2021, Hotel Tucson is hosting their own gem show, currently scheduled for April 8-25.

Hotel Tucson
Hotel Tucson City Center.

On a more personal note, my parents’ Midwestern friends were getting ready to launch their annual winter visit, when my dad received a cancer diagnosis and found out he would need major surgery right away.

It has all given him – and us – a new perspective.

After coming through his surgery successfully, he made himself a rule to focus on the moment we have now. It’s a good thing to practice.

Treasure your corner of the desert.

Desert plants at Tohono Chul

– More Tohono Chul info –

 

Tohono Chul

Re-opening protocols (as of February 2021):

  • Instead of buying admission tickets at the Park, you purchase tickets for a specific time online in advance.
  • Shops and Garden Bistro have reopened with limited capacity.
  • Masks are required. If you forget yours, you can call from the parking lot and they’ll bring one out to your car.
  • B.Y.O.B.: bring your own (water) bottle! Drinking fountains are currently off-limits, but there are hands-free water bottle refill stations available.

If you’re not ready to go in person, there are lots of videos and resources to enjoy Tohono Chul @ Home.

 

Tohono Chul

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Top Fives of 2020

Road up Mount Lemmon

We humans are weirdly resilient.

"Dirty P" art by John Carrillo.
“Dirty P” art by John Carrillo.

A few years ago, I wrote (through tears), “Life can be such an off-balance mix of highs and lows, beautiful moments and heartbreaking ones all scrambled together.”

It remains true at the close of this tumultuous, challenging, disorienting – and, yes, often heartbreaking – year. There are points of light, even in dark times.

Dog
Quijote hanging out with me before polling place setup in November.

I asked a few friends to think of some good moments they experienced in 2020 and share them in the form of a top five list of things they did or simply enjoyed.

Their lovely responses (and fun photos!) are below.

 

Handmade clothes and quilts
Craft projects by Kelli.

Kelli Donley Williams: Top 5 Things I Made

These are my top five favorite makes of 2020 – a year that provided ample time for me to be creative.

1. Cornflower Yoke Cardigan from Vintage Baby Knits for my niece, Maxine Eleanor. She was born August 1.

2. No. 1 shirt from designer Sonya Philip. I learned how to sew basic garments this year. I made several of these and lived in them all summer!

3. I participated in Denyse Schmidt’s Proverbial Quilt Along. The quilt reads, “The Darkest Nights Make the Brightest Stars.” I gave it to my eldest niece Alexis, who headed off to college in August and was having a hard time with everything she’d been forced to miss due to the pandemic.

Sweater
Kelli in a sweater she made herself!

4. My best friend Meghann turned 40 in August and asked for a quilt in her colors. This is the most ambitious quilting project I’ve ever completed. My mom quilted the top with her longarm, to make it extra special. The pattern is an Ohio star.

5. I completed Morning Sky sweater in cornflower blue and have enjoyed wearing it. I really like the scalloped edge and the fit. I made it from inexpensive yarn, and it has held up nicely!

 

Healthy meals
Serious meal prep by Christin!

Christin Underwood: Top 5 Ways I Stayed Healthy during 2020

1. Meal prepped weekly to stay on my nutrition

2. Made sure to do at least 3 home workouts a week

3. Made sure to hike weekly for Vitamin D

4. FaceTime and Zoom called my family once a week

5. Journaled and did meditation for mental health

 

Lucrecer Braxton portrait
Lucrecer with some of her many plants, who she plays music and dances with.

Lucrecer Braxton: Top 5 Songs I’ve Been Listening to This Year

1. Diana Gordon, “Woman”

2. Almondmilkhunni feat. Evander Griiim, “Grapefruit”

3. Yung Baby Tate, “That Girl”

4. Maxine Ashley, “Lobster”

5. Koffee, “Toast”

 

Sangeeta and Shanauk got the beet.
2018 photo that I dug up on Sangeeta’s Facebook.

Sangeeta Agarawal: Top Ways I Learnt To Do R+R This Year

1. Call and Zoom friends

2. Walks in nature and meditation retreats

3. Cook fun recipes

4. Clean and decorate house

5. Coloring and calligraphy

6. Reading spiritual books

7. Being in pajamas

8. A little bit of gardening

 

Dog in a tent
Laurel says her dog, Honeybear, is an excellent camper!

Top 5 Things I Enjoyed in Spite of 2020…

• from Laurel Shane:

1. Camping trips

2. Cuddling with my dog

3. Reading Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

4. DIY projects like sewing masks and making home improvements

5. Rewatching The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

 

Yosemite
Vesna hiking Half Dome.

• from Vesna Taneva-Miller:

1. I went on my first meditation retreat in Stockbridge, MA a week before everything shut down because of COVID. This was on my 2020 list before 2020 arrived.

2. I went on an epic hike in Yosemite and hiked Half Dome. I was sooo lucky to be invited on this hike as going all the way to the top requires a permit that is given through a lottery system.

Stamps
Two of Vesna’s hand carved stamps.

3. I was able to stay home for 6 weeks when COVID first hit. We did a lot of walks in local parks. I also learned how to edit videos and filmed 3 classes for Skillshare.

4. I planted two fruit trees in my backyard: a fig and a pomegranate. I will always remember that they were planted during COVID year (haha)!

5. I am joining Carve December, and I am determined to carve a stamp a day during this month.

 

Happy campers
Lori camping with family.

• from Lori Meisner Cleland:

1. Socially distanced camping trips with my brother and his family

2. Discovering new (to me) music, like Gregory Porter

3. A slower pace

4. Increased support of and appreciation of small businesses

5. Seeing all the amazing creativity going on as people work to navigate this crazy year together

Food and beverages
Photos from some of the local restaurants Lori supported this year.

Photos that go with the lists are from the respective listmakers.

P.S. Dinah Liebold’s list of gift ideas that was so detailed and timely that it got its own post last week, so be sure to check that out if you haven’t already!

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