The Sonoran Desert is one of the most ecologically diverse deserts in the world with more than 2,000 native plant species and hundreds of wildlife species. Special adaptations have allowed plants and animals to survive and thrive in this desert climate for thousands of years.

Over the past century, the desert landscape has changed dramatically in Central Arizona; farms and cities have replaced open desert, interrupted wildlife corridors, and led to a loss of critical habitat for plants and wildlife. An emerging trend in urban gardening is a return back to our desert roots through the use of native plants and sustainable landscape practices.

"Experienced gardeners know if you build it (a habitat garden), the (wildlife) will come!"

By working in partnership, gardeners and pollinators are bringing back the bounty to our urban environment.

The Glendale Xeriscape (low-water-use) Demonstration Garden is an example of how an urban landscape can be transformed into an attractive and colorful oasis through desert-adapted plants, thoughtful landscape design, and proper maintenance. As you walk through the garden, you will see a diversity of plant and wildlife species – a sign of a healthy landscape.

Funded by the Arizona Game and Fish Department Heritage Fund Grant, the City of Glendale’s Welcome Wildlife to your Garden Guide and the accompanying educational signage at their Xeriscape Demonstration Garden are designed to help you create and sustain a wildlife friendly garden. By restoring Sonoran Desert Habitat, you can create a place for plants, wildlife, and people to live in harmony.