Green Thumb: Arid Garden changes with welcoming look

Finding the Arid Garden has become a lot easier since the addition of a dynamic new entry.

Designed and built by volunteer Bill Stenavich with a corps of Green Valley Gardener volunteers, it is an imposing beige stucco entry with a chocolate brown pergola on top. This is the same garden in the same location — but with a new way to say “welcome.”

Agave with golden and red-thorned barrel cactus have been planted on the exterior of the entry. The curving path leading to the garden’s interior has been reconfigured. A resting bench has been placed just inside. There is now a bulletin board with information on what to look for in the garden, any upcoming events, and gardening tips.

As with all gardens, this one is always a work in progress. The original purpose of those volunteers who conceived, constructed, and planted the first phase over 20 years ago, remains the same. The mission is still “to maintain a peaceful and welcoming garden demonstrating the use of native and low-water plantings for the education and enjoyment of area residents and visitors.”

Located just off Camino Encanto in the Desert Hills area, the Arid Garden has approximately 300 plants, many originating from wind- or bird-planted seeds. Most major plants have identification signs to clearly present common and scientific names. Many plantings, particularly trees, are 20 years old or more, making it an excellent place to view how these species look at maturity.

In the LaScala Cactus Garden, new flowers arrive daily, ranging from pink to yellow to red to bright green. This is a raised bed of small cactus and colorful minerals in mid-garden, designed to make it easier for sight-challenged visitors to view the incomparable beauty of thorny plants and unique rocks close up. A prize to look for is the “Glory of Texas Bi-Color,” a small insignificant cactus that produces huge pink flowers often.

To replace a fallen 80-foot eucalyptus tree, a small little-leaf ash was recently planted on the southwest ledge. A 5-foot acacia tree had to be moved from the entry to a spot in the rear garden last autumn. Another low-water garden is being developed on the west boundary.

To learn more about the Arid Garden, plan to attend the Green Valley Gardeners seminar, 9:30 a.m., Thursday at East Center. Garden volunteer and photographer Linda Gregory and I will present a program on “A Year at the Arid Garden.” It’s not all about plants and trees, either. This garden is further touched by the folks who volunteer there and a multitude of hummingbirds, songbirds, butterflies, raptors, deer, bobcat, bunnies and javelina.

Green Thumb appears Wednesdays in the Green Valley News.