Rain Garden on Cactus Blvd (A Work in Progress)
• History
• Gallery
• Plant Inventory
• Rock Gardens
• News Stories
• Work Day at the Rain Garden, January 15, 2022
• What's Happening on Cactus Boulevard... September 2021
• Our New Rain Garden at Rancho Morado, August 2021
• Gallery
• Plant Inventory
• Rock Gardens
• News Stories
• Work Day at the Rain Garden, January 15, 2022
• What's Happening on Cactus Boulevard... September 2021
• Our New Rain Garden at Rancho Morado, August 2021
The area between the Rancho Morado wall and Cactus Blvd contains one of the few spaces with original mesquite trees that were at one time abundant throughout the neighborhood. The area was maintained as a typical manicured landscape until the amazing rains of the summer of 2021.
The 2021 monsoon rains produced an abundance and plants that no one could remember ever seeing before... and thus, a "rain garden" was born.
The neighborhood developed a plan to maintain and enhance the garden with the support of Rancho Morado. Working with our Ward 3 representatives, we asked the City to provide boulders to slow traffic on Cactus and protect the rain garden. As of January 2022, these boulders have been arranged to give the most protection while also providing an attractive visual look and some seating for those who would like to linger and perhaps chat with their neighbors. In addition to the traffic-calming boulders, the City provided us with rocks to create water-slowing features to retain more of the stormwater coming from south of Prince Road and heading to the Rillito. The captured stormwater will nourish not only the current mesquites but also the new replacement trees that germinated during the summer.
The neighborhood continues to maintain the area with work sessions throughout the year.
The 2021 monsoon rains produced an abundance and plants that no one could remember ever seeing before... and thus, a "rain garden" was born.
The neighborhood developed a plan to maintain and enhance the garden with the support of Rancho Morado. Working with our Ward 3 representatives, we asked the City to provide boulders to slow traffic on Cactus and protect the rain garden. As of January 2022, these boulders have been arranged to give the most protection while also providing an attractive visual look and some seating for those who would like to linger and perhaps chat with their neighbors. In addition to the traffic-calming boulders, the City provided us with rocks to create water-slowing features to retain more of the stormwater coming from south of Prince Road and heading to the Rillito. The captured stormwater will nourish not only the current mesquites but also the new replacement trees that germinated during the summer.
The neighborhood continues to maintain the area with work sessions throughout the year.
The plants that appeared with the 2021 monsoon rains were a welcome surprise. We have started to document the plants that grew that season as well as new plants that appear.
To see pictures of the plants, their names and other information click HERE and select the 'Plants' tab. Click on the picture of the plant for more information.
To see pictures of the plants, their names and other information click HERE and select the 'Plants' tab. Click on the picture of the plant for more information.
The name "Rain Garden" came from the Watershed Management Group (watershedmg.org/document/rain-garden-care-handbook). We will update this page with information on the specific structures (eg checkdams) we built with their help.