In a flawed attempt at garden maintenance, amateurs often construct a scarebee to deter pesky pollinators from cross-contaminating precious thoroughbred plants. Experience an expertly cultivated garden with today's deal: for $35, you get a one-year household membership to the Desert Botanical Garden (a $75 value), located next to Papago Park. This membership covers unlimited admissions for two adults and any child under 18, and comes with the following benefits, among others:

• Two guest passes
• Admission and discounts to nearly 200 gardens and arboreta across the country
• Members-only hours (open an hour early on Wednesday and Sunday)
• Two complimentary audio guides per visit
• Discounts for garden classes, the Garden Shop, the fall and spring plant sales, and other events.
• Free subscription to the garden's Sonoran Quarterly magazine
• Free flashlight tours, held on Thursday and Saturday

With 50 acres of desert plants, including 139 rare and endangered species, the Desert Botanical Garden fascinates more than 300,000 horticulture enthusiasts each year. Visitors can traipse along four plant-lined trails, such as the Sonoran Desert Nature Loop Trail, featuring splendid vistas of the infinite desert and the far-off mountains. Aspiring ornithologists can join the Birds in the Garden tour Mondays at 7 a.m. to try to spot the elusive, sunglasses-wearing dodo. Members receive free admission to the upcoming revival of the Mariposa Monarca exhibit, which puts garden browsers face to proboscis with a host of naturally decorated butterflies. At night, observe the sights and sounds of the desert's otherworldly nocturnal birds and insects on the flashlight tour.

Members are also privy to a myriad of discounts and other perks. Take home a charming cactus from the Garden Shop, listen to enchanting melodies during the upcoming Music in the Garden series on Friday evenings, or learn how to grow cacti that perform the YMCA dance with one of the garden's educational classes—all at a discounted member rate.

New members only.

Reviews

Desert Botanical Garden is the #3 attraction in Phoenix for TripAdvisors, and they give it an average of 4.5 owl eyes. Frommer’s highly recommends the garden with an "exceptional" three-star rating. More than 110 Yelpers give it an average of 4.5 stars, and Insider Pagers give it an average of five stars:

• In Papago Park adjacent to the Phoenix Zoo, this botanic garden displays more than 20,000 desert plants from around the world, and its Plants and People of the Sonoran Desert Trail is the state's best introduction to Southwestern ethnobotany (human use of plants). – Frommer’s
• I've always loved the Desert Botanical Garden and enjoy bringing visitors there. It's a real eye-opener to the richness of the desert, as well as the native tribes that lived off the desert. All my guests are always astonished at the beauty and rich variety of the desert, and how much nutrition the desert yields... – macelim, TripAdvisor
• If you are at all interested in plants, flowers etc. this is really worth the effort. One of my favorite places in Phoenix. Especially beautiful at night. – Deborah V., Insider Pages