TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Frida Kahlo’s iconic garden at La Casa Azul in Mexico City has found new life in the desert. The Tucson Botanical Gardens unveiled its newest permanent outdoor exhibit, Frida’s Garden, capturing the spirit and artistry of the world-renowned Mexican painter with a uniquely Southwestern twist.
The exhibit was presented in a ceremony at the Mexican Consulate with Consul Fernando Adrián Sánchez Roldán, providing a symbol of the cross-border relationship.
“We’re thrilled to be able to highlight Mexican culture as well as honor Tucson’s early culture,” said Michelle Conklin, President/CEO of the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Frida Kahlo’s original garden at La Casa Azul, her home with fellow artist Diego Rivera, was both a creative refuge and a living expression of her artistic philosophy.
Rejecting colonial influences, Kahlo filled her garden with native plants from Mexico and South America, embracing the natural beauty of her culture and heritage.
“Her artistry was rejecting colonial-style painting and developing her own style based on her own cultural roots,” said Adam Farrell-Wortman, Director of Horticulture at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. “She did that in her garden as well, avoiding European plants and instead planting native species to Mexico, embracing the older cultures of the Aztecs and Mayans.”
To honor that vision while grounding it in the desert, Farrell-Wortman blended plants from both worlds, native Southwestern flora alongside Mexican and South American species such as hibiscus and jacarandas.
“To capture the spirit of her garden, it wouldn’t make sense to only plant species from Mexico City,” he said. “The spirit of her garden was about embracing local culture and the landscape.”
Conklin says in many cases, the landscapes of Mexico City and Tucson are similar. “When you visit Casa Azul in Mexico City, you see many of the same plants we have in Southern Arizona,” she said.
Visitors will also find colorful blue and purple walls reminiscent of Kahlo’s own home, painted under the guidance of a color specialist to match the shades of Casa Azul. The exhibit even includes small touches like replicas of her paints and easel, linking her artistry directly to the plants and colors that surrounded her.
The exhibit was originally created for the San Antonio Botanical Garden and later sold to Florida’s Naples Botanical Garden. When offered to Tucson Botanical Garden, Conklin said that “Installing a garden that really celebrates nature and art was a no-brainer.”
However, there were conditions.
“We didn’t want it to be a traveling exhibit,” Conklin said. “We wanted Frida to find a permanent home.”
Farrell-Wortman says the garden’s design started in March of 2025 and was completed this week. Since the garden will be permanent, he says the varieties of plant life will change over time, much like Frida’s Mexico City garden. As trees grow and form more shade, different plants more suited to the environment will be substituted.
The process didn’t come without challenges.
The exhibit was shipped to Tucson in two 54-foot freight trucks, which then had to be stored for several months before being rebuilt on-site. There were also space considerations, since both the San Antonio and Naples Botanical Gardens had different shapes, forcing changes to the exhibit’s design once it was constructed in Tucson.
The Tucson Botanical Gardens will host a special 50th anniversary and Frida Kahlo celebration on Friday, October 10, ahead of the public opening.
Frida’s Garden officially opens to visitors on Saturday, October 11, at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, located at .
For more information about the exhibit, visit the Tucson Botanical Garden website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
