Palm Springs-Style gardening Provides dryland gardeners with lush and bountiful inspiration from this well-known region's unique and colorful oasis communities. Despite the near-tropical climate, creating gardens that thrive in this harsh environment of climatic extremes can be challenging - with wind, heat, sand, and a dozen other factors that need to be considered when planning a landscape. While gardening in milder climates is quite easy, dryland gardening is a whole new world where residents need help, and lots of it.

Desert gardening guru Maureen Gilmer shows how outdoor gardens may be designed to enhance the appeal of the eclectic and diverse architectural styles found in the Coachella Valley - from Mediterranean to mid-century modern to contemporary. Included in each chapter are profiles of wonderful desert gardens to visit for inspiration, ideas and pure enjoyment.

Learning to choose plants naturally adapted to the climate, whether natives or plants from faraway desert regions of Africa, Australia, Mexico or South America - frees homeowners from a demanding maintenance regime, and reduces the use of an ever-scarcer resource - water.