Rain in The Tropical Paradise

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It doesn't rain much here in the Sonoran Desert, so when it does, it is a beautiful sight! It just started raining a few minutes ago and it promises to be a nice desert thunderstorm. Great for the cannas!

Here along the north wall I have a mass of Canna Tropicannas. They love water so they will soak up a lot of it. In front of them, the garden tilts down a bit to allow the water to run off of the cycads and the palm trees. The artificial turf is perforated, so rainwater soaks into the ground, too. I had a gutter installed along this edge of the patio to keep the rain from hitting the flagstone so hard and breaking up the grout. During hard rains it works great, diverting the water to the yard, where the drainage for the property takes it around the side of the house to the courtyard, where it is retained, and then out the front of the property for overflow. There is a neighborhood flood detention basin at the northwest corner of 67th and Peoria, and a much larger flood detention area at Sahuaro Ranch.

So bring on the rain!

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