Cactus as canvas: Phoenix, AZ

Rambling among red rock formations with vistas in nearly every direction, the Desert Botanical Garden will make you feel like you’ve left the city for the country. Show-offs are bristly headed barrel cactus like organpipe, senita, and totem pole, and native ornamental grasses. Don’t miss the Desert Discovery Loop Trail (about 0.3 mile) along a yucca forest and the Sonoran Desert Nature Loop Trail (0.25 mile) through stands of organpipe cactus. $18; 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy.; dbg.org