Gardening : Moorten’s Botanical Gardens Preserves the True Palm Springs

Turn-of-the-century health-seekers and nature lovers recognized Palm Springs for what it was--a true oasis. Here was a palm-dotted retreat where an ancient hot springs gushed forth. Here was nature, simple and unadorned.

But today, the old Palm Springs is a little hard to find. As the demand for more golf courses and more luxury housing increases, the last vestiges of wild Palm Springs are all the more precious.

Fortunately, there are people and places committed to the preservation of the last of the wild desert. Patricia Moorten, who owns and operates Moorten’s Botanical Garden, believes the purpose of her garden is nothing less than the preservation and protection of our endangered native desert flora. “The idea behind Moorten’s Garden is to give visitors, after they’ve been downtown, the feeling that they’re out in the desert again,” she said.

The garden is on Palm Canyon Drive just a few blocks from high-fashion salons and tacky T-shirt shops, but it is a world apart. The wood-burned plaque at the entrance reads: “This garden fosters the spirit of the desert despite the advent of man’s possessive encroachment therein.”

At first glance, the wooden fence, overgrown cacti facing the street and the funky hand-lettered signs suggest a tourist attraction from the 1930s--kitsch instead of glitz. But once inside, the visitor is amazed by the extent of the cactus collections. And even though you swore you were going to concentrate on nothing but fun and sun in Palm Springs, you end up effortlessly learning an amazing amount of natural history and desert lore.

A visit to the garden is an introduction not only to the Palm Springs of the past but also to the botanical diversity found in the deserts of the world. The self-guided tour takes the visitor through the environments of the Sonoran, Colorado, Chihuahuan, Mojave, African and South American deserts.

Moorten’s was opened more than a half-century ago by Chester “Cactus Slim” Moorten and his bride, Patricia. Slim was a Hollywood actor-turned-desert landscaper who developed a reputation for locating and transplanting exotic cactus species during the worldwide cactus craze in the early ‘50s.

The garden very much reflects the personality of Patricia Moorten, a well-read botanist who, after more than 50 years of work, still consults with cactus lovers the world over. Dressed smartly and always wearing a large sun hat, Moorten frequently inspects her garden paths. She runs the place with the help of son Clark and grandson Richard.

“We’re so glad to share our garden with visitors,” she says. “The fact that it’s three generations of us now working here makes it very special.”

Moorten’s is a great place to commune with cacti. More than 3,000 species can be found here, among them enormous century plants, spectacular 15-foot giant saguaros and a 20-foot cardon from Baja. Several hundred full-size species of cacti and succulents flourish in the cactarium, a temperature-regulated hothouse.

One special attraction is an S-shaped palm tree that was moved here years ago from the open desert. The move was not an easy one, and a giant crane was required. The tree had been hit by lightning, which burned and bent it; still, it survived.

“To me this palm is an example of that Bible passage that talks about how we grow from the heart out,” Moorten says.

The palm is the focal point of the garden’s Little Tahquitz Falls area, which is a reproduction of the actual Tahquitz Canyon area just a few miles away. It’s a romantic place, judging from the number of weddings and receptions that take place here.

Children are drawn to “Tortoise Terrace,” where desert tortoises lumber about and bask in the sun. And they seem to have a great time following the “Dinosaur Footprints” in the Prehistoric Garden.

Home gardeners can browse in the garden’s nursery and buy succulents and cacti of all sizes from deserts near and far.

Moorten’s philosophy about preserving the desert extends far beyond the walls of her garden. She frequently hosts gatherings of like-minded civic and conservation groups.

“Palm Springs is still a very unique and romantic place,” Moorten says, “but the city, for some reason, has always felt compelled to promote pseudo-glamour instead of the magnificent geographical setting.”

For five decades, Patricia Moorten has been a voice in the Palm Springs wilderness. She was one of the first botanists to preach the gospel of xeriscaping--drought-resistant landscaping. As a city parks commissioner, she fought for desert landscaping instead of lawns and insisted that the palms not be pruned. To this day, when she learns of an imminent development, she makes it a point to beat the bulldozers to the construction site and “liberate” the native plants.

“A little patch of green doesn’t hurt, but the greatest percentage should be desert, open and natural,” Moorten says.

Clearly Moorten and other Palm Springs preservationists lost more battles than they won. They have seen the land and the names on the land change to an astonishing degree--Rio del Sol is now Bob Hope Drive, Wonder Palms Road is Frank Sinatra Drive.

To Patricia Moorten, and to visitors who step off the commercial path, Moorten’s Botanical Garden is a place that celebrates the diversity of desert life and is living proof that the desert is anything but a barren wasteland. “The desert is far from deserted. It’s full of fascinating creatures, especially plants. In fact, I feel like the desert is in tune with the universe.”

Moorten’s Botanical Garden is at 1701 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, (619) 327-6555. It’s open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adults $1.50; children 50 cents; age 5 and under, free.