This is the beautiful and intimate herb garden at the Tucson Botanical Garden. I never thought about herb gardening in the desert. It can be very tough and I thought herbs could be the toughest. These tips are from A Tucson Herb Garden:Some Tips for a Summertime Herb Garden
1. Use Pots (10" or larger and group them closely together.)
2. Use Quick-Draining Soil (Perlite added to potting soil improves drainage.)
3. Water Adequately (This might be daily during the hottest months of the year.)
4. Use an Eastern Exposure (This location will expose herbs to morning sun and afternoon shade.)
5. Some Herbs are Inappropriate for Summer (Including annuals that bolt easily, dill, chervil, cilantro, chamomile, borage and caraway.) Plant these in the fall.
6. Most Herbs Adore Heat (It is best not to place them in all-day sun until fall.)
7. Feed as Needed (Once a month is fine, for pots. Water first, then feed.)
8. Pinch Leaves Whenever You Like for Crafts and Cooking (Try not to take more than one-third of the plant at any one time. This goes for other locations in the U.S.)
Then it goes right into the desert areas with the cactus and succulents.
Tucson Botanical Garden has many areas for young and old. The sign says butterfly gardening and it lives up to the billing. This plant was full of butterflies!
The garden below is called Nuestro Jardin which honors Tucson's tranditional Mexican-American neighborhood gardens with a representative collection of flowers, trees, herbs and objects frequently seen in barrio gardens.
At the Tucson Botanical Gardens, there are 16 specialty gardens within 5-1/2 acres representing a variety of gardening traditions and botanical themes. Hope you will visit this wonderful garden when you visit the southwest.