The VW Botanical Bug Returns to Tucson Botanical Gardens – Barrio Style!
A Summer of Bikes, Trains, & Automobiles at the Gardens!
Tucson, AZ: Freshly painted and planted, Tucson Botanical Gardens’ VW Botanical Bug has made a much anticipated return. Parked outside the Nuestro Jardín, or Barrio Garden, the 1960s vehicle is wrapped in a colorful design by locally based artist, Sue Betanzos, and overflowing with flowering annuals, herbs, and food producing plants, sourced from local nurseries. It joins la bici that leans up against the garden wall, also tricked out with plants for the season, and The Great Garden Express model garden railway for a summer of Bikes, Trains, & Automobiles at the Gardens!
To plan your visit and purchase tickets to this Trip Advisor Travelers’ Choice 2024 award-winning destination go to TucsonBotanical.org
About the Artist: Sue Betanzos is a Tucson-based artist. She creates glass paintings and mosaics featuring wildlife and beloved pets. Sue describes how she came up with the design, Alebrije Jackalope, for the Barrio Bug, “The designs for the Barrio Bug evolved from the origins and meaning of the Dia de Muertos and the Mexican proverbs ‘El Amor no tiene fronteras’ and ‘Recordar es vivir’. The Jackalope is a fusion of animals, a nahual spirit guide of the southwest. Her horns are inscribed with Zapotec symbols. Imagining all of her life details is what brought her to visual reality.”
About the Tucson Botanical Gardens: Located on the site of the historic Porter family property in the heart of Tucson, Arizona, Tucson Botanical Gardens is a lush oasis set on nearly six acres. More than 7,000 plants are displayed in over twenty curated garden spaces including a world-class collection of cacti, grasses, flowers, and mature trees. Gardens include the Cacti and Succulents of the World, Nuestro Jardín, a traditional Mexican-American neighborhood garden, Children’s Discovery Garden, and many more that showcase the diversity of plants that can thrive in the Sonoran Desert. The Great Garden Express is a G scale model railway set in an Arizona, Sky Island inspired landscape, and the Gardens is home to the only tropical and butterfly pavilion in Southern Arizona, open October – May. Tucson Botanical Gardens offers rotating art displays, community classes, events, and international exhibits. The café at Edna’s Eatery by Charly’s Grill serves a seasonal menu. Event services are available for groups, weddings, and social gatherings. The Tucson Botanical Gardens is located at 2150 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85712. Learn more and purchase tickets at TucsonBotanical.org
