An Abundant Arboretum

by Sylvia Houston Lee

This is a reader-friendly, short history of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, Arizona. Information was obtained from archives and interviews. The story begins with a short biography of the founder, William Boyce Thompson, and ends when the University of Arizona and Arizona State Parks have joined the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum as a triumvirate of co-administrators.

386 pages, Paperback

Published June 18, 2019

Reviews

[Susan Nagle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read the book, I felt as if the author was talking to me and taking me on a tour through the years, from the time the idea of it was conceived up until 1976. I learned about all the people's lives that helped make the Boyce Thompson Arboretum a wonderful and giving sanctuary. Sprinkled in among all the facts were humorous tidbits from personal letters and newspapers as well as personal interviews from former workers or their remaining family members. I have visited the arboretum many times. Now that I have read this book, I look at the arboretum with a fuller appreciation of it.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who loves the Boyce Thompson Arboretum this is an enlightening and enjoyable read. It details the first 50 years of the arboretum's history, and provides the highlights of the subsequent years up to the first publication of this book. I see the arboretum with a new eye each time I visit now.

For those who have not visited the arboretum you will want to make the trip after you read this book.