Who We Are
Formed in the summer of 2005, we are a group of local professionals and residents from a variety of
backgrounds, united in our interest to encourage and promote what many call ‘desert landscaping’ in the Coachella Valley.

The group includes home gardeners, landscape industry professionals, volunteers and staff of The Living Desert,
faculty and staff from local area colleges and water districts, and many others who share a love of gardening and concern for water conservation in our beautiful desert.

Outreach Plan
The Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley addresses its challenges through public education and advocacy:

• We strive to show our local political representatives that there exists a large and ever-growing number of people who share our concerns about water conservation and desert-friendly landscaping.

• We present our neighbors with attractive alternatives to the traditional “Palm Springs turf’ landscaping through
field trips to public and private gardens, educational presentations and presence at community events.

• We share knowledge and gardening tips with each other and the public at our membership meetings and on the message boards at the group’s Web site.

Goals and Challenges
The Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley has two primary motivations:

Water Conservation
The protection of this valuable resource for future generations is of great concern to us. Growth in the Coachella Valley is not likely to slow down anytime soon. With nearly 80% of the average household’s water consumption tied to the outside of the house, making reductions in the amount of water used for landscaping will have a large and positive impact to our Valley. Lack of attention to this issue could resort to the strict enforcement of rationing programs, such as have been implemented in cities like Las Vegas.

Landscapes That Support Local Wildlife With increased development also comes loss of wildlife habitat. In addition to using much more water than native and desert- friendly landscapes, so-called ‘exotic’ landscapes generally require more labor and resources such as fertilizers and pesticides. These can have negative consequences for the plants and animals in our desert ecosystem and minimizing their impact is an important goal for the group.