Landscape design and techniques are utilized throughout my .8 acre lot to create wildlife habitats, reintroduce native plants and showase artwork. Connected by a network of defined trails, the side and rear yards offer shade, privacy, a nursery and cactus garden, potting shed, ramada and special seating areas. The enclosed back yard, slightly higher in water use, offers flower beds, sculpture gardens, potting areas and desert tortoise habitat.

I have tried to create on my property a sense of tranquility, lushness, whimsy, and a deep love of nature. Homeowner vision and hard work (by not just me) are evident throughout.

The property is a registered wildlife habitat, and has been featured in both the Tucson Botanical Garden Tour and the Open Days Garden Conservancy Tour. In 2003 it won the Homeowner's Category and Best Design to Attract Wildlife in the Tohono Chul/AZ Department of Water Resources Xeriscape Contest.

At my Bi-Annual Art Show, patrons are invited on a self-guided tour around the yards. The front, side and rear yards are fully accessable to all the desert creatures we share the area with. The immediate back yard is enclosed by a wooden fence which keeps out rabbits and javelinas, and provides a safe space for box turtles and desert tortoises.

Click here for a look at the phases the yard has gone through and those still planned.
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The front yard features a mix of agave, prickly pear, saguaro, mesquite, acacia and palo verde. I have brought in accents of sage, Mexican and red bird of paradise, and an assortment of aloes.

The program from the Awards Ceremony for the 2003 Xeriscape Contest, sponsored by the Arizona Department of Water Resources and Tohono Chul Park, with assistance from Tucson Water, Harlow Gardens, Tucson Home magazine, RainBird, Ewing Irrigation, AZT, Mountain States Wholesale Nursery, Desert Trees Nursery, Kelly Green Trees, Civano Nursery, The Home Depot, Tucson Botannical Gardens, Native Seeds Search, Farmers Water Company, Pottery Blow Out, Fountain Center and the City of Tucson Parks and Recreations Department.

The gardens are all connected by a network of defined trails developed over a period of time to sense the natural flow of water and trails the wildlife used.

The East trail takes you to more of the native flora of our area in addition to citrus trees, now large and producing, as well as a number of special features that are nestled together in harmonious fashion.

Javelina Crossing - My sculptural javelinas converge with some shallow tanks that feature additional art including a birdbath "pool". The use of tanks gives me that back-home-Wisconsin-farm-girl feeling.

My Yordani Garden Shed (rebuilt from Cathy Yordani's children's old play house) is standing strong. I have added chicken wire to the windows and door to keep out opportunistic pack rats.

(above) My studio and my view of Pusch Ridge, snow covered after a winter storm.

 These four photos show the Earth Oven area

The Enclosed Back Yard has undergone an extensive redesign. We tore out the grass except for a 6-foot square patch for the desert tortoises, and removed part of the sidewalk. In their place is a new patio area and hummingbird/desert tortoise garden. To go along with our rain harvesting barrels at each corner of the house, I bought a 6-foot section of culvert to act as a giant cistern. It holds around 300 gallons of precious rainwater. The turtles (6 desert tortoises and 2 box turtles) love the new design, and the hummers are busier than ever!

Shown above center: This is the remaining lawn area (for the tortoises)

Below: This culvert section acts as a cistern, and holds about 300 gallons of rainwater.

Sidewalk area - it gets lusher later on in the season

Artwork incorporated into the garden (below)

Various art works enliven this space

This enclosed area is an eclectic mix, and a labor of love