Plant & Stewarding Resources

Vaughan tries to show us how big the desert ironwood tree will grow just before we plant it and rain in the neighborhood public right-of-way.
Behind him is a desert ironwood tree that was the same size as the one in the foreground when planted 20 years ago.
Best time to plant at tree is 20 years ago or today!
Reproduced with permission from “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2, 2nd Edition” by Brad Lancaster

• Favorite local native plant nurseries in Tucson, AZ

• Seed mixes for Sonoran Desert stormwater-harvesting rain gardens

• Prickly pear cactus, its edible parts, & more

• Wolfberry, its edible parts, & more


• Recommended Native Tree & Understory Plant Lists


• Choosing Mesquite Trees for Landscapes & How to Identify Different Species

• More About Mesquite

• Ethnobotanical (Human Uses of Plants) Resources

• Invasive Plants to Remove

• Recommended contractors for hire

Planting saguaros as living totems.
When Mark Lancaster wast born (45 years before this photo was taken) the saguaro he is hugging was the size of the adolescent saguaro in his right hand. We give away and plant similar-sized adolescents to mark family’s, friends’, and neighbors’ big life events and births. They all then grow up together.
Reproduced with permission from “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2, 2nd Edition” by Brad Lancaster