Peniocereus greggii at Tohono Chul, Tucson

Tohono Chul (aka Tohono Chul Park) is a botanical garden, nature preserve, and cultural museum located in Casas Adobes, a suburb of

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. The words "tohono chul" translate as "desert corner" and are borrowed from the language of the Tohono O’odham, the indigenous people of southern Arizona. The mission of Tohono Chul is to connect people with the nature, art and culture of the

Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert ( es, Desierto de Sonora) is a desert in North America and ecoregion that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the southwestern United States (in Ariz ...

region and to "inspir wise stewardship of the natural world". The 49-acre (19.8 ha) site itself offers a setting for Tohono Chul's regional focus. Overlooking the Santa Catalina Mountains, the park is located in a natural desert habitat within existing migratory tracks of several species of native fauna. Thirty-eight species of birds make their permanent home in the park while another 57 migrant species visit seasonally, and a variety of reptiles and mammals, from Gila monsters to bobcats, may be spotted on the grounds. Moorish Garden, Desert Living Courtyard at Tohono Chul, Tucson

Moorish Garden, Desert Living Courtyard at Tohono Chul, Tucson

In 2008,

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Magazine named Tohono Chul one of the Great Botanical Gardens of the World.

History

In the 1920s, the entire northwest section of Tucson was considered ideal for growing frost-sensitive citrus and date palms. Maurice Reid owned property from Orange Grove Road to Ina Road and planted it with groves of citrus trees. He introduced black date palms and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit ...

to the property that would become Tohono Chul Park. Groves of citrus trees remained even after Samuel W. Seaney subdivided the area in 1931, calling it Catalina Citrus Estates. Maurice Reid, acting as realtor for Seaney, sold the future site of Tohono Chul Park to John T. deBlois Wack in 1937. Mr. Wack was an avid polo player from Santa Barbara and a friend of the Reverend George Ferguson, pastor of the newly consecrated St. Philip's in the Foothills Episcopal Church. Following an afternoon spent drinking

mint julep Mint julep is a mixed alcoholic drink, or cocktail, consisting primarily of bourbon, sugar, water, crushed or shaved ice, and fresh mint. As a bourbon-based cocktail, it is associated with the American South and the cuisine of the Southern Uni ...

s, the Fergusons and young Gene Reid (future namesake of Tucson's

Reid Park Zoo The Reid Park Zoo, founded in 1967, is a city-owned and operated non-profit zoo located within Reid Park in Tucson, Arizona. The zoo features more than 500 animals. It was unofficially established in 1965 by Gene Reid, the parks and recreation ...

) escorted the Wacks around the property. The Wacks purchased an 80-acre (32.4 ha) parcel for $16,000 – or $200 an acre (.4 ha). Later that year, a Santa Fe-style house (today's Exhibit House) was built on the property. During construction, the

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

bricks for the 18” thick outer walls were made on the premises and

Ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

logs were brought down the winding back road from Mt. Lemmon to be used for the living room beams. The Wacks actually spent little time in Tucson. By the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the home had exchanged hands several times, until in 1948, Colonel Robert Bagnell, a board member of the Tucson

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

and his wife Eugenia Sullivan Bagnell bought the Wack's 80-acre parcel. Known as “Las Palmas” during the Bagnell's tenure, the house had a rose garden and a wide grass lawn. Eugenia Bagnell donated a portion of the property to the Catholic Diocese of Tucson to serve as the site for St. Odilia's Catholic Church, visible today to the north; and in 1963 her son, John Sullivan, built a home on ten acres on the western edge of the property. Designed by Lewis Hall, a student of Tucson architect Josias Joesler, the hacienda-style home featured a traditional zaguan and fountained courtyard. Known as the “West House,” it is the site of the Tohono Chul Garden Bistro and La Fuente Museum Shop.

Development

In 1966 Richard and Jean Wilson, started piecing together patches of the desert that would form the core of Tohono Chul, ultimately owning 37 acres (15 ha) of the Wack's original 80 acres (32.4 ha). The son of a Texas oilman, Richard Wilson was a geologist, trained at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

. With his wife Jean, he came to Tucson in 1962 to teach at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

. In 1968 the Wilsons purchased the section containing the hacienda-style “West House” and lived there for the next eight years. They never occupied the Wack's home, instead offering it to a succession of non-profit organizations as a halfway house or youth residence. It was during the 1970s that the couple was approached several times by developers seeking to purchase the land for commercial development. They always refused. Jean Wilson told them, “I don't want to sell the land. I don't want it cemented over. I want to preserve it.” In fact, when

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

condemned a strip along the southern boundary of the property in order to widen Ina Road, Mr. Wilson demanded that they move every

saguaro The saguaro (, ) (''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountai ...

and replant it on their adjacent property. In 1979 Jean Wilson opened the Haunted Bookshop on Northern Avenue along the eastern edge of the site. Once it was up and running, the Wilsons began planning their next project — a park. “At first we just went out and put down some lime to make a path and marked the names of some of the plants and bushes, but then it started to snowball.” In 1980 they received a citation from the Tucson Audubon Society for saving the desert greenspace and opening it to the public. Further motivated by a desire to preserve the Sonoran Desert they loved; they established the non-profit Foundation for the Preservation of Natural Areas in the early 1980s. : ''We wanted to keep something natural in the middle of all the (surrounding) development so that people could come easily for a few hours and get out of the traffic and learn something at the same time. It’s probably contrary to what most people would do, but we feel it's real important for people to have something like this.'' Over time, demonstration gardens and special collections of native and near-native, arid-adapted plantings were added. The Wacks' original 1937

house was carefully renovated in 1984 to provide space for changing art exhibits, a museum shop and administrative offices. Tohono Chul Park was formally dedicated as a 37-acre desert preserve on April 19, 1985. The Wilsons deeded the property to the non-profit foundation, Tohono Chul Park, Inc., in 1988. In the spring of 1995, an 11-acre (4.5 ha) parcel abutting the property on the north was slated for higher density rezoning and offered for sale. With the help of longtime member John Maher, Tohono Chul was able to acquire the property, establishing a memorial to John's late wife, Mary. The most recent addition came when the much-loved Haunted Bookshop closed in 1997. The Wilsons donated the land and building, thus adding the final acre — then there were 49 (19.8 ha). The Wilson family also donated land at Hart Prairie ( Flagstaff) and Muleshoe Ranch ( Willcox) to the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

Displays and exhibits

Within the park, Tohono Chul has developed thematic displays using its botanical collections which consist primarily of plants native to the Sonoran or

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lo ...

s. They include more than 150 species of shrubs and trees; 300 species of cacti and succulents; and 50 species of wildflowers. In addition, Tohono Chul has the largest private collection of native Night-blooming Cereus - '' Peniocereus greggii'' - and each summer hosts "Bloom Night", the one night it is predicted the greatest number of cereus flowers will open. Outdoor exhibits include: *

Ethnobotanical Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...

Garden — displays indigenous plants cultivated by Southwestern native peoples for food, medicine and other necessities of life, as well as those crops introduced by European settlers *

Riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...

Habitat — replicates the stream-side natural vegetation of Arizona's threatened riparian communities *

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

Wall — this display illustrates the geologic history of the nearby Santa Catalina Mountains *

Saguaro The saguaro (, ) (''Carnegiea gigantea'') is a tree-like cactus species in the monotypic genus ''Carnegiea'' that can grow to be over tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountai ...

Discovery Trail — an exploration of the saguaro through its cultural connections to the Tohono O’odham and its botanical connections to the natural history of the

* Sin Agua Garden — a former parking lot converted into a

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...

demonstration * Desert Living Courtyard — another parking lot is now a series of garden vignettes in a variety of design aesthetics all promoting Xeriscape and intended to inspire homeowners to use native and arid-adapted plants in backyard landscapes * Sonoran Seasons Garden — the five seasons of the Arizona Upland subdivision of the Sonoran Desert * Desert

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

— native fan palms shelter in this recreation an isolated mountain canyon found along the east coast of the Gulf of California Tohono Chul's changing indoor arts and cultural exhibitions feature works by community groups and artists of all ages. Three exhibit spaces are used for different types of exhibitions, from large group shows lasting several months to smaller, one-man exhibits on display for six to eight weeks.

History

Development

Displays and exhibits

See also