A Garden Arises From a Mountain of Trash

During a visit to a park, I came upon a beautiful little garden that rests on top of 2.2 million tons of trash.  This small succulent garden is but a very small part of the park which rests upon a recently closed landfill.

Newly planted cacti, aloe and agave.  Ocotillo stand in the background. In the background, you can see that the walls are made of wire encased stones.

This landfill was closed in 2005 and the new park has not officially opened.  However, that did not keep me and my husband from exploring.

A collection of Mammillaria backebergiana. Many of them were getting ready to flower.

 Close-up of the flowers beginning to open. I love how the flowers form a ring around this little cactus.

We hiked to the top of the park, (or should I say, the top of the trash heap), which is the second highest point in the city.  Once at the top, it is very easy to view the surrounding mountains (Superstition, San Tan, South Mountain, the McDowell’s and Four Peaks).

A collection of Green Strawberry Hedgehog (Echinocereus enneacanthus engelmannii) and young Aloe.

There is just something I love about a boulder with lots of character like this one.  They add so much texture to the garden and you don’t have to water or prune them.

The canal runs by the park and paths for both bikes and horses encircle the park.

Mammillaria macdougalii 

As you can see from the photo above, contrary to popular opinion, cacti and other succulents do best when watered initially until they become established.  By using drip-irrigation, it is very easy to just plug up the emitters later or put on an adjustable emitter.

*Note how the emitter is not placed up right next to this cactus – it is placed a little ways away to help keep the roots from rotting. 

A young Agave desmettiana and the Mammillaria receive water from the drip-irrigation system. The plantings in the far background look very sparse, but will grow very  quickly. 

 I love how recycled, broken concrete was used to build the walls of this garden.

I love that used recycled, broken concrete was utilized to make the walls of this succulent garden.  

The garden is covered with canvas shade panels which look like they can be easily removed once the cacti and other succulents become established.

*Many cacti and succulents do best when temporary shade is provided when they are moved and transplanted.

I had a wonderful time visiting, but all too soon it was time to leave….for the grocery store.

But, I will be back soon….

*Please click the following link for more information about The Paseo Vista Recreational Area

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."