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Desert landscaping rests peacefully at Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park, operated by Palm Springs Cemetery District, opened on October 31, 1956. The memorial park is located at the corner of Ramon Road and Da Vall Drive in Cathedral City. In 2009, the cemetery district removed grass and annual flowers from its two surrounding curbsides at Desert Memorial Park. That is a combined total of 1,750-feet of curbside!
Turf was replaced with desert-friendly plants, a drip irrigation system, decomposed granite and large boulders.
Desert landscaping at a cemetery may sound strange at first, but it complements the grass very well. After all, the cemetery is located in a desert.
Palm Springs Cemetery District Manager Kathleen Jurasky says she plans to conserve water by removing unnecessary grass throughout the park. "The desert landscaping makes a big difference. I want to remove all the unnecessary grass to reduce the park's water consumption," says Kathleen.
The cemetery district is saving money by preserving and incorporating many of the park's existing desert-friendly plants and trees with the new landscaping.
"My grounds supervisor, Jesse Madrigal, has a green thumb," says Kathleen. "It is rare that we throw out a plant. He is a gardening wizard. He removes plants from one area and transplants them in a temporary location to be used as needed."
Total cost of the curbside and entry fountain project was $231,489. The cemetery district also converted several locations at the park's Memorial Terrace Fountain area. The total cost of the terrace project was $4,500. All landscaping was designed by TKD Associates, Inc.
Kathleen says that the desert landscaping has attracted the attention of many local residents and visitors to the cemetery. "We have received many wonderful compliments," she says. "People actually make a point to come in and compliment the landscaping."
Currently, the cemetery district is in the early stages of designing a desert landscaping master plan project for Desert Memorial Park.