Ellen Sanford

I love this as an earthworks option for deserts.  Obviously you've successfully moved a small amount of water over the larger area to the center point where the plants are located. I wonder what would happen if you simply flattened the central circumferance to the diameter needed for a group of guild plants and then walked away.  Whatever plant you choose for the ground cover would keep the ground shaded as it grew and that would allow the pool of water to soak into the soil more slowly vs. burning off in the heat.  Primarily during the cooler time of year.  I'm just a beginner in permaculture but this is something I haven't see in any other permaculture literature or videos.

Just a note about gopher deterrents.  In Practical Permaculture by J. Bloom, when discussing plant guilds, daffodils are recommended as a gopher deterrent.  Not sure how that would work with your Lenz but thought I'd mention it.  I also live in AZ; very interested in your trials and hope they are successful!

Last year my husband and I took a drive to the location east of Colorado Springs and there was nothing there.  Someone driving by stopped and told us they never really got off the ground.

https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov

Use the Advanced Search; you can search for just about any characteristic including Coppice potential or Nitrogen Fixation.   I like to start witih my state and work from there.