​​​​​​​​Tres Rios

Butterfly Garden​​


ARTIST:   coLAB - Matt and Maria Salenger, with Ten Eyck Landscape Architects
DATE:   2006
LOCATION:  Tres Rios Constructed Wetlands Demonstration Project at 91st Avenue and the Salt River
(Please note, this installation is no longer visible to the public. This page serves to archive the original installation.)
TYPE:   Art Installation
MATERIALS:   Mixed Media
BUDGET:   $180,000
DISTRICT:   7
​ZIP CODE: 85353


coLAB and Ten Eyck designed the garden as an interpretive experience for visitors to learn about the human impact and balance of water use in the desert. Situated just off one of the park’s main trails, the garden featured two concentric circles of living ocotillo fencing girded by interpretive stainless steel panels.  The panels were cut with elegant graphics showing the various cycles of water use in nature, agriculture and industry, and the damage that an imbalance of use can cause. The path through the enclosed garden was landscaped with native and desert-adapted plants that attracted butterflies and birds throughout the year.  The team was inspired by the awareness that only 4 percent of Arizona's natural wetlands still remain.​