Growing roses in hot climates

Water-wise lawn replacement 

The cactus garden on a late November morning at the now closed Las Vegas Desert Demonstration Garden. A new larger garden is now open at the nearby Springs Preserve.

Visit a Public Garden 

Nothing can be more inspiring than an excursion to a beautiful public garden to see how those little one gallon plants you've just set out will look when they begin to mature. Better yet,  visit one of these gardens before you decide what to plant -- just in case that 10 inch high plant turns out to be 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide when mature. 

 See photos and details of gorgeous botanical gardens:

And in Nevada...

Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden. 2 Cactus Garden Drive, Henderson NV.  Phone 702-435-2655.  One of the largest cactus collections around, includes both Mojave and Sonoran cactus specimens as well as desert trees in a shady four acre garden.  And you get a free chocolate sample at the end!

North Las Vegas Desert Demonstration Garden.  2200 Civic Center Drive, North Las Vegas NV. Phone: 702-633-1175.  Currently a one acre garden with over 70 varieties of water-smart plants.  Plans are underway for a much larger demonstration garden in North Las Vegas.

Moorton Botanic Garden, 1701 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92264.  Phone: 760-327-6555.  

University of Nevada Las Vegas Arboretum, UNLV Campus, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas NV.  Phone: 702-895-3392.  The entire campus is an arboretum and there is a two-acre xeriscape garden near the Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies.

Pahrump Desert Demonstration Garden. 1651 East Calvada Boulevard, Pahrump NV.  Phone: 775-727-5532.  A one-acre garden that features drought-tolerant, 
desert -adapted plants.

Battle Born Peace Gardens, Nevada Veterans Nursing Home. 100 Veterans Memorial Drive, Boulder City NV. Phone: 702-332-6864.  An award-winning  twelve acre garden surrounding the Nursing Home has paths winding through it from the courtyards to desert landscapes.