Desert Botanical Garden | Phoenix, AZ | Let's visit my favorite cactus plants!

It's a nice sunny winter day in Phoenix, AZ, so let's go to the Desert Botanical Garden and visit my favorite plants! We'll see Astrophytum, Copiapoa, Ariocarpus, Coryphantha, Mammillaria, Boojum, a ton of Aloe and Agave, and much more (hint: crested Saguaro)! We won't be walking all the paths so make sure you plan to visit the garden in person if you ever find yourself in Phoenix.
This video was recorded on Dec. 23rd, so you'll still see some Christmas themes in the garden. I want to wish you all a very happy new year! Thank you all so much for coming along our cactus journey this year. Cheers to more plant content in 2023!
Desert Botanical Garden website: dbg.org/
Connect with me on Instagram: / cookiescacti

[@HumanBean520]

I grew up in Tucson and my earliest memories as a kid were playing in the desert and wash near our house. I never really appreciated the beauty of the desert until I was much older. Wish I could go back and see the desert through the lens I have now 😌

[@cookiescacti]

What part of the country/world are you at now? I bet you'd appreciate the heck out of the Sonoran desert if you had a chance to come back. There's this indescribable beauty of this place, I fell in love with it the first time I saw the Saguaro as I drove through Arizona from California to Texas.

[@HumanBean520]

@@cookiescacti i moved away for college and lived in CA, CO, and NYC but returned to live in PHX after about 10 years away! I sure missed the desert. I love the Sonoran desert! My dad actually lived in Saguaro national park. I always loved driving through the saguaros to go see him🌵

[@cookiescacti]

Gosh Saguaro national park is one of my favorites! My brother fell in love with the Saguaro too (it must run in the family) so I took him there and he had a blast!

[@the_plants_meow]

That place is incredible! So many cool things but dang that crested Saguaro is absolutely amazing! I'll never be able to see it in person, so thank you for the video 😃

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the walk through the garden with me, Heather! That crested Saguaro is definitely something, so alien, so beautiful.

[@NeonCicada]

_It truly is a beautiful world we live in_

[@cookiescacti]

I totally agree! 💚😻🌵

[@eucitizen78]

Yes it is 🙂

[@kimlittle9236]

Thank you for for taking us with you love that place , l would come home with a fair few baby cacti from the gift shop myself 😻

[@cookiescacti]

You're so welcome, Kim! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the tour. DBG is truly one of my favorite places in Phoenix, heck, I'd even say it is my top favorite place!

[@alexsalamander4251]

YES one of my favorite places in the world, love living this close to it

[@cookiescacti]

We are so lucky to live so close to this most magical place, Alex!

[@Nino_G]

Great video Jenny, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Boojum! 😀

[@cookiescacti]

Boojum! Happy new year, Nino! I'm so glad you enjoyed taking the walk with me.

[@krishawley2976]

I just started watching your channel and I love it. So informative and visually stunning

[@cookiescacti]

That is the nicest comment, Kris! Gosh, I so appreciate it! I'm so glad you enjoy my videos!

[@ronhobbs8038]

I bet this is mesmerizing to walk thru at night with those Tea Light brown bag candles lit up.

[@cookiescacti]

I bet it is, Ron. I have yet to attend the luminarias event but now I have to see it with my own eyes! This is on my list for next winter!

[@ronhobbs8038]

@@cookiescacti cactus rock

[@cookiescacti]

@@ronhobbs8038 I wholeheartedly agree 👍👍👍 🌵🌵🌵

[@georgeramirez5225]

Love the Video, liked the Crested cactus my Favorite. thank you and Happy New Years to you and Cookie.

[@cookiescacti]

Happy new year, George! I still remember the first time I saw that crested Saguaro, it's still spectacular every time!

[@morrisparkintheozarks6831]

Great tour!!! Love places like this!!! I've not been there. I've been to the Huntington gardens and museum and it is amazing!!! If you ever get to so. California, Los Angeles area , I highly recommend it!!! A stop at California cactus center 🌵 next door in Pasadena is pretty cool also!! The cactus you bought looks like a melocactus, but I noticed something caught in the spines, was it a spent flower, from that plant or one next to it? If it is a spent flower from that plant, then it's not a melocactus. No cephalium & the cephalium would grow very small pink flowers, not larger flowers that would fade & dry in the spines. Hmm very curious!!! Let me know. Maybe just caught another cactus flower that fell in it. Nice plant nonetheless!! Love the blue color with the heavy spines!!! Thanks for sharing!!! From Morris Park in the Ozarks, out there Arizona, have a wonderful evening!!! Peace, Love, Plants!!!✌️💖🌵🥀🌳🏵🌿🌸🌷🌱🌲🌹🌴🌾🌻🪴💐🍀😃👍

[@cookiescacti]

I have seen videos about Huntington gardens and many southern Californian nurseries. They are on my wish list of places to visit someday for sure. It was a piece of pumice on the supposed Melocactus, so we still have a chance! I have three Melocactus now, but all too young to have a cephalium. I hope I get to see one develop some day, I'm pretty sure I'd freak out with joy if I get to witness it! I'm really starting to pay attention to cactus from South America now, they are just so gorgeous and it's so fun to see how much they resemble plants in North America. Without a cephaium, I often confuse Melocactus with Ferocactus. Thanks for watching and commenting, Clyde! I'm so glad you enjoyed the tour!

[@expediteplanb7443]

That crested Saguaro is frigg’n awesome🌵

[@cookiescacti]

Isn't it awesome?? I'm so glad you appreciate it so much! Happy new year!

[@gracewithnature]

Okay, that’s it! I’m going to the US of A one day in the future to spend as much time as I could in these amazing places and see all these incredible cactus and succulents 😅 Thank you so much for sharing. I love and enjoy watching your contents. And a new subscriber, I’m playing catch up 😂

[@cookiescacti]

Yesss! If you're ever in the Phoenix area the Botanical garden is a must for plant lovers! What part of the world are you at? And thank you so much for supporting my channels! I hope you enjoy the other videos as well. 💚

[@yaddahaysmarmalite4059]

there's amazing biodiversity all over the world. it all needs protected and respected. a person would need multiple lifetimes to explore it all.

[@williamkittrell3342]

Nice tour, thanks. Have been to the Garden, a number of years ago and have always wanted to return. Hopefully soon.

[@cookiescacti]

I hope you get to come back and visit the garden again, William. It would be really interesting to see what you find new or different at the garden now.

[@debmccleary9857]

Thanks for the tour. I enjoyed it lots.

[@cookiescacti]

You're very welcome, Deb! I'm so glad you enjoyed visiting my favorite plants with me ☺️

[@dinamonaghan7524]

Thank you for the wonderful tour. I would like to live here.

[@cookiescacti]

You gotta come visit! It really is a lovely garden, especially for the cactus lovers.

[@maanerotte]

Thank you for yet another great video! I love to hear your love for the plants :)

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this video, Thomas! I love that folks like you love these plants as much as I do. This is such a wonderful community of plant lovers 💚💚💚

[@RoseR7997]

Oh my gosh this is amazing 🤩

[@cookiescacti]

💚💚💚🙏🙏🙏 one of my favorite places in Phoenix

[@eucitizen78]

What a wonderful place. Thank you so much for bringing me there with your video. 😃

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this! I'm hoping to get a new camera soon and I'm thinking about going back for another stroll around the garden, this time with camera stabilization 😊

[@marionfarley7379]

Wonderful time. Thank you for taking us on the tour.

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this stroll through the garden!

[@curly_loves_cacti]

Thanks Jenny! I would definitely be there all day! Like you said, so many big and little details. It’s on my list to visit! Happy New Year! 🎆✨🌵

[@cookiescacti]

You'll love it, Tatiana! Definitely worth a visit the next time you're in town. Happy new year!

[@lorirober2536]

Awesome video. Watching again in January 2024. Thanks for filming this amazing botanic garden.

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this one Lori! I'm thinking of going back with my new camera and perhaps we can revisit some of these plants and see how they're doing. Just need to find some time....

[@hkkhgffh3613]

Wickid! I have been there last year! A most wickid place with glass art and cactii!

[@cookiescacti]

Isn't it?? Probably the top spot for my favorite places in Phoenix. I'm so glad you love it too!

[@adrianmorning.1555]

Was there in 2019 on a trip from the uk - went to see Iron Maiden and visited- great experience 👍

[@cookiescacti]

That's awesome, Adrian! I'm so glad you had a great experience!

[@cookingwithsalma7752]

Beautiful sharing zabdast video beautiful views

[@cookiescacti]

So glad you enjoyed the tour!

[@Madeeintexas]

Wow !! That place is amazing.

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the garden, Madee! It's really one of my favorite places!

[@margaritarojas6313]

Hi, I'm amazed with such a beautiful place, I love it

[@cookiescacti]

It's one of my favorite places ever! I'm so glad you found the beauty in all the desert plants, Margarita!

[@dinamonaghan7524]

Oh joy, a boojum tree. I've only seen them in pictures.

[@cookiescacti]

One of my favorites 😁

[@maribootz2534]

Enjoyable video. Wondered what you ate for lunch. Seems like I had something very good there many years ago. I’d like to visit there again this spring.

[@cookiescacti]

Thank you, Mari! I had a Sonoran hot dog and some prickly pear ice tea for lunch. Delish! I hope you get a chance to visit the garden again this spring!

[@RSJ-Texas]

Excellent tour. Thanks so much !!!

[@cookiescacti]

Thank you for taking the tour with me! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Happy new year!

[@oneoftheninetynine3953]

Thanks for the tour, what a fantastic garden to see in winter!

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the garden tour! Winter is probably the best time to visit, but also the most crowded. Summers are brutal but sometimes you feel like you have almost the whole garden to yourself!

[@alexandralacerda492]

Absolutely stunning 😍❤️

[@cookiescacti]

Thank you!! 😊 I'm so glad you enjoyed the tour!

[@alexandralacerda492]

So beautiful ❤

[@cookiescacti]

Thank you so much, Alexandra! It's one of my favorite places to go for a walk in Phoenix

[@cactusjoe]

WOW, what an awesome place and collection, thanks so much for taking us along, Jenny!! Wishing you and Cookie a Happy New Year and a wonderful 2023!! Keep those great videos coming!!👍🌵🌵🌼🌺💚😎

[@cookiescacti]

Thank you for coming along for the walk through the garden with me! I hope you had a wonderful new year, Joe! To many more videos in 2023!

[@richbray9037]

That place looks amazing omg I have to go

[@cookiescacti]

Yes! You have to go!!

[@MrWolfheart111]

Thank You :)

[@cookiescacti]

You're very welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed this tour!

[@greatnorthernexotic]

Incredible place! Would love to visit someday.

[@cookiescacti]

I hope you get a chance to visit at some point! Cactus lovers will have a blast! Happy new year, friend!

[@andersnrregren9087]

Viral video? I think it is going to be a good one lets hope alot of ppl see it i loved every sec of it

[@cookiescacti]

Ha! I wish it would go viral! Maybe amongst the cactus community there's a chance for viral status. I'm so glad you enjoyed the walk, Anders! Happy new year to you!

[@ShyDog827]

I’m glad I viewed this. It seems most of the cacti are grown in partial shade . I moved my cacti to a shadier spot and noticed one of them got singed on one side/:

[@cookiescacti]

Are you in the Phoenix area? Yeah, "full-sun" really means something different in Arizona compared to other parts of the country.

[@joshualennox3599]

I’m not even kidding…I know an old folks trailer park in Mesa that has a created saguaro that’s possibly more impressive. I don’t know why it’s there but it was the first crest I’d ever seen

[@cookiescacti]

Woahhhhh any idea where it is?? I saw one near my parents' place too but it's not as spectacular. Reminds me that I need to go take a picture of it next time!

[@joshualennox3599]

Ha. Southern and Sossaman were the nearest cross street. Lemme see if I can’t figure it out…

[@cookiescacti]

@@joshualennox3599 now I'm googling crested Saguaros around town 😁. There are many I didn't know about!

[@hamlulit]

Very cool thanks ! Are The Coapoiapos in full AZ sun and outdoor conditions or partial tree shade ?

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the tour! In the garden I see them mostly planted under tree shade or somewhere where there's partial shade. The AZ sun is too brutal for just about any plant except for acclimated native plants.

[@구공-f5f]

와우 정말 정말 멋진곳이네요

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the tour!

[@mimirose4012]

I came from out of state and visited. I tell you it felt like I was in heaven, but then the heat hit me 😇😅🤭.

[@cookiescacti]

Oh gosh, what month did you visit, Mimi? The summers are no joke! But i'm really glad you felt like you were in (a very hot) cactus heaven!

[@mimirose4012]

@@cookiescacti Hello! It was July of last year and I think I was there for 7 :30 am or something like that. ( I realized after the fact why they have those early hours. ) The temp wasn't too bad at first, but I remember by 10 am it was in the 90s. Then by the time I left it was 100+, but I would do it again!! Um, but I don't know about my husband.

[@cookiescacti]

@@mimirose4012 You survived a July morning in Phoenix! There are a lot of morning people here in the summer because, as you mentioned, basically by 9-10am, it's too hot to be outside lol. I'm so glad you had a great time!

[@mimirose4012]

@@cookiescacti Thank you and yes I get it! Have a good week!

[@JoseChavez-bo4um]

Me gustaría visitar los lugares que usted nos muestra saludos 😃

[@cookiescacti]

If you're ever in Arizona and love cactus, you'd love all these spots! I hope you get a chance to visit. Feliz año nuevo, Jose!

[@yaddahaysmarmalite4059]

this is better than disney land.

[@cookiescacti]

Ha!!! I love this comment! Take that, Disney land!

[@azwelke2638]

Boojum tree!!

[@cookiescacti]

BOOJUM!

[@MJSGamingSanctuary]

I visited this botanical garden when I was younger and NEARLY tripped over a local snake 🙃Granted it was nearing sun set so I hazard a guess the snake thought most humans were well on their way and it was safe to venture out.

[@cookiescacti]

Woahhhh! Did it have a rattle by any chance? That must have been so startling!

[@MJSGamingSanctuary]

@@cookiescacti Nope no rattle it was like a huge fat corn snake that appeared to like just be casually slithering. Looked like the perfect ambush predator snake the type of snake where it would look like a moving blob in the darkness. I don't think if you had night vision would help.

[@dendyvalerianwibowo9687]

🔥

[@cookiescacti]

Happy new year, friend!

[@dendyvalerianwibowo9687]

@@cookiescacti hello.. Im form indonesia🙌

[@cookiescacti]

@@dendyvalerianwibowo9687 Hello from Arizona! 👋👋👋

[@philliesphillips6346]

Did you hit the succulent garden like you said did I miss it

[@cookiescacti]

Do you mean the succulent collection house? I think I go there just after the cactus collection house.

[@Denis_Belskiy]

Жаль, здесь долго не посидишь.🙂

[@cookiescacti]

Darn it, I don't think Google translate did a good job at translating. It returned "Too bad you won't be here for long." Is that correct??

[@Amocles]

What are the yellow buckets for

[@cookiescacti]

So you mean the little plastic bag like containers? If so, they are lanterns, they light them up at night for LAS NOCHES DE LAS LUMINARIAS, a special event they have every winter at the garden

[@Amocles]

@@cookiescacti wow that's so cool that you got back to me thank you. Okay cool I didn't know what they were for I thought maybe donations or something or leaving your name, that is so awesome can you do a video of what it looks like at night?

[@cookiescacti]

@@Amocles I would love to! But I have to wait until next winter when they have the event again. I have it on my to-record list 🙂

[@Amocles]

@@cookiescacti very cool

[@otilium7503]

😂❤❤❤😂

[@cookiescacti]

💚💚💚

[@massivehuynis]

@12:51 strombocactus disciformis? var. jarmilae??? mayhaps

[@cookiescacti]

Yay! You're the first person to try to ID that plant! It might be D. Disciformis... or perhaps some sort of Gymno maybe? It's very chunky (my favorite shape of plant). I have to find out what it is!

[@rh5563]

Love the content. Unfortunately you are panning too quickly and I am nauseous. I know there are more like me out there that have the same issue. I couldn’t get past minute 3.

[@cookiescacti]

I know.... Other folks have made similar comments (including my Mom) and it's something I'm trying to work on but haven't been very successful. I haven't figured out how to strike the balance between being able to show as much as I can while keeping the length of the video reasonable. I'm very inexperienced with making videos (which is probably an understatement). Thanks for trying to make it through though (and for letting me know).

[@rh5563]

@@cookiescacti , I watch a channel called TVR Exploring where the guy explores abandoned mines. There are a ton of other YT channels out there doing the same thing, but his videography is amazing! Not a professional, he just made his videos so people don’t get sick watching them. Pretty sure he uses a gimbal, but that helps mostly with vertical stability. He pans slow enough to allow the brain to process what people are seeing. He often breaks the video up into ‘parts’ (ie. Part 1, Part 2). If you are trying to show everything there in the time you’ve allotted yourself per video, it would benefit your channel and the viewer by getting a gimbal, panning slower and breaking the video up into parts. I usually don’t write such a long reply, but you seemed sincere and I figured you might want to hear straight talk from someone who suffers from motion sickness.

[@cookiescacti]

@@rh5563 I appreciate the feedback and information. This is interesting watching TVR Exploring, it's definitely amateur and simple, a good fit for my style. I'm perhaps a bit too ambitious with the space I cover, like my last nursery video at B&B Cactus farm is 1hr 21min long, which I felt I started off at a slower pace and then I started rushing as time went on because I was running out of time. Some of the parks and nurseries are so large, I'd probably need 4-6 hours to record in order to showcase the plants at a more comfortable speed, which just isn't doable. I'm also naturally an impatient person, so it makes it all the more difficult. But on the bright side, it means there's room to grow and improve. Maybe a gimbal to start. Thanks again for taking the time to comment and leave feedback!

[@rh5563]

@@cookiescacti , I’m glad that you went and checked out TVR Exploring’s (his name is Justin) channel and got something positive from it. Next higher step is to start editing. That takes time though. With the subject you cover, I see a zoomed in still shot (via video) with a quick description and then back to regular speed while not zoomed in. I don’t know if the latter sentence made any sense to you, but just something to think about. What is going to be ‘my style’. There are quite a few channels that cover the same subject matter…. Make yours different, somehow, someway.

[@cookiescacti]

​@@rh5563 Absolutely! I think I have found my style as "casual and unprofessional" LOL. I already edit my videos but I am limited to a cheap camcorder and a chromebook with basic cloud video editing software. I'm also extremely limited on time that I can devote to this hobby - basically weekends and evenings when I'm not working or have something else going on. I am very open to any easy, simple, inexpensive tips that can go a long way to improving my videos. I'm going to look into a gimbal, which hopefully isn't too expensive but might go a long way to help stabilize my videos.

[@howlinhauler]

stabilization!

[@cookiescacti]

Ha! Yeah, I'm trying to figure out when it's time to upgrade my camera and my editing software. Neither have stabilization. Trying to figure out when spending more money on this KZbin hobby makes sense.

[@chaiwatpotichanid]

Rely old speakers big size very much agree doing like natural cute beautiful fat 🥰🥰👍

[@cookiescacti]

💚💚💚💚🌵🌵🌵😸😸😸

[@christof6951]

❤🏜👍👏

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoyed one of my favorite places to visit in Phoenix, Christof!

[@christof6951]

Yes that is a beautiful place😇

[@lynneschechter8630]

you moved the camera so fast I couldn't focus on what you were pointing out

[@cookiescacti]

Yes, I know - I've received similar feedback from others. I'm still very new to making videos but I've been slowly improving my camera work (although I still fail at times, remember, I'm an amateur doing this on my free time). Check out my newer videos like the B&B Cactus Farm shopping video and the CACSS show and sale - I put a lot more effort into moving slower and showing details. It's a lot of work to make these videos as a hobby.

[@johnanonyimous5007]

interesting, but camera jerks too much

[@cookiescacti]

Yes I am aware. I have put a lot of effort into improving camera work over the past year. Please check out my newest videos like this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5zGqqptht-XrJYsi=qywiWv5y-EYJTnsQ and this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYHaZnaHqpudbJIsi=mTWYl9iI456DpQVE I am considering going back to the Desert Botanical Garden some time and doing another tour with my new camera. What do you think?