Terrasante's Shady Grove Area: Creation of Permaculture Habitat
Riana Good and Rocky Morgan Reporting, 3/30/19
We are creating Shady Grove as a wildlife sanctuary that provides shade,
water, and habitat for much of the desert wildlife in this region. Under
the shade of large mesquite trees we recently planted seven varieties of
citrus, including tangerine, kumquat and mandarin, to complement previously
planted trees in the orchard - Arizona Ash and loquat, among them....
The water feature provides soothing sound and moving water for all varieties of
birds, hummingbirds, butterflies, which are also attracted to the area with
recently planted hummingbird and butterfly pollinators. Native seeds from
Arizona Seed Source have also blown into the area and volunteer flowers are
emerging, as well. The organic garden is becoming cohesive with the
abutting grove, and transitioning between them are grapevines, milkweed,
butterfly flowers, succulents, nettles and aloe varieties. When we first
came to the area, we removed a lot of the thorny cactus so that the area is
barefoot friendly, and invites humans to the area to enjoy a picnic table,
hammock, bench, and yoga area at the center. It is centrally located near
the solar shower, as well. In keeping with the permaculture approach of
observation and interaction, we have been allowing this area to emerge over
time and will continue to observe and interact as the area further develops.