Marilyn Monroe in downtown Palm Springs, Calif
This is my 4th and final post about my trip to California last month. That should satisfy the Western reader who complained that I don’t cover gardens in California nearly enough. (I live in the East.)
I’d never been to Palm Springs, California and thought of it as the town where people like Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra go to retire and play golf. Which is true, and two of its main streets are named after those guys. But then I heard about its Modernist Week every year celebrating stunning Mid-Century Modern homes, and the Palm Springs Film Festival, and how beautiful the place is – so I jumped on an invitation from old friends.
On my drive there from L.A. the land looked other-worldly to me, with palm trees, wind farms and nearby mountains. What planet was I on?
I arrive in Palm Springs where, as I did in Santa Monica, I hoped to cycle through the best residential neighborhoods, gawking at/photographing stunning homes and gardens that are so unlike anything back home. I was sorry to discover that most residential neighborhoods in the area are walled- and gated-off, so off-limits to gawkers like me. I followed my friends’ suggestion – an older, nongated one with large lots.
Then one quick search failed to turn up bikes for rent in the city (which I now see, upon second googling, are actually available), so I settled for a drive-through via the rented Chevy whose functions I never fully grasped. (Running out of gas but unable to open the gas cap, I was rescued only by a how-to video on YouTube.)
On my drive, I spotted just a few gardens that I was moved to photograph.
Central Palm Springs Homes and Front Gardens
I saw lots of homes like this – massive in square footage but spread out, all on one floor. Rocks, palm trees and succulents.
Here’s another typical planting, with more modern architecture. That’s a lot of driveway, huh?
After driving through block after block of beige homes and beige gardens, I stopped to admire this wall in Mexican burnt orange and tiles, with just a hint of more color on the other side. Forgetting that I was driving a car, not riding a bike, my stopping to gawk nearly caused an accident. That’s what a sucker I am for color.
For safety’s sake I resolved never to garden-gawk by car again.
Golfing Communities just outside Palm Springs
Newer, slightly less expensive housing continues to pop up nearby, like The Springs just seven miles away in Rancho Mirage, where I stayed. This gives you a great view.
That’s where I learned that there are nongolf residential communities and golf ones. While The Springs is a “golf one”, centered on the handsomely landscaped clubhouse above, residents’ monthly fee doesn’t include golf – so only golfers pay for the golf course.
Here are some gardens I saw on my morning walk through the neighborhood.
Color – yay!
I love this look, including the stones as groundcover, though I’m afraid that plants like this wouldn’t give me enough to DO. Or the ability to touch them without thick gloves.
I wonder if they put down landscape fabric under the stones, or if weeds just aren’t a problem here, where there’s just about 5 inches of rain yearly. No bark or wood chip mulch in sight, anywhere. 
More shades of grey and beige, very typical.
Total commitment to gravel, with daily raking?
Almost anywhere in the community you have views like this. Snow-capped – who knew?
The Promised Back Garden with Pool
Finally, this is my friends’ home, where I got to see inside the roughly 3,000-sf home, spread across one floor.
The pool and hottub take up a lot of the open space, but who in their right mind would want to live in the desert without a pool? (Average high temperature in July – 108 degrees F.)
Pool and all, this green-loving Easterner fell for the back garden, with its blue tiles, furniture and accents, beautiful landscaping and that view of the mountains.
So yes, I think I could adjust to life here, despite those summer temperatures. Hell, I have to get up predawn to garden in hot+humid Maryland, anyway.
You can spot the hottube here, center-left.
With plant-covered 8-foot-high walls seen in this pano view, neighbors can be quite close without losing privacy.
I love residential architecture that feature views of the garden, like Joe and Kevin’s home does. So unlike the beige sameness so dominant in the desert, the view here is of lush, colorful landscaping that’s actually touchable.
One More Back Garden – in the San Fernando Valley 
And closer to Los Angeles, my nephew and his family have a similar back yard, probably typical of Southern California – mostly pool, hottub and hardscape. No fussing with lawn. And this time the privacy is provided by a tall hedge of something or other.
Again with the Shearing!
When I saw this shrub in my nephew’s yard – the work of their landscapers – I had a visceral urge to ruthlessly cut off all the dead plant parts and reveal its lovely structure. (I’m assuming it has one). Sad to say, no pruning tools were available, so I’m left with a rant-worthy “before” photo.
Speaking of, the landscape seen in these last photos, around a retiree residence in Palm Springs, sports hundreds of bizarrely shaped shrubs. Sigh.
Look at what untrained laborers can do to some poor Bougainvilleas!
So glad it was an “almost” accident and not a real one! I do love to ride a bicycle around ( anywhere new if I have a sidewalk) and gawk tho.. I would starve to death for some green out there….(I do love blue cacti however) So much to love and NOT…ugh.. those balls! Like a giant cat just coughed them all up…Yes probs not enough for me to do either except to lounge by the pool..You probably do need to get up about 4am to work outside during the summer…..Palm Beach instead of Palm Springs for me baby…Arizona looks lush compared to where you just were..
A lot of the landscapes you saw looked like they came from Lives of the Rich and Famous and were hardly inspiring. Too bad as there are a ton of very colourful and interesting succulents, cacti and very heat and drought tolerant plants that thrive in the Palm Springs area. It’s unfortunate that you weren’t able to see any gardens with these in them. The beige and grey just shows a lack of imagination. Much like the lawn and box balls and hedges seen in the eastern parts of the country. The two smaller gardens were the most interesting.
Plenty of cacti and other succulents here: https://gardenrant.com/2024/02/moorten-botanical-garden-palm-springs-california.html
and here: https://gardenrant.com/2024/01/desert-garden-sunnylands.html
I’m from California, now in the Southeast. For anyone who cares, I refuse to read most articles on California gardens. I regard it as cheating. How much talent, really, does it take to put a plant in perfect soil in the perfect climate? Unless you’ve created garden beds with a pick axe, like I have done in our red clay soil, gardening is not a serious challenge. Thanks for sharing these gardens from the rare challenging area in California!
Curious about your friends’ pool patio. The loungers are on top of some dark colored tile. It’s a pretty touch, but wouldn’t the dark color burn your feet on a hot day? Is there something more to this tiled “area rug”?
Actually, the dark rectangle under the lounges IS a rug. It does get hot in the summer, but you can still put your bare feet on it without scalding.
I’m in the same boat, Lyn. Charlotte, where we live now, and San Luis Obispo, our old home, are about the same latitude but on different garden planets. I hear you!
Susan, right on about unskilled shrub mauling, your photo says it all. Technology is the enabler, particularly two-stroke trimmers and saws, deafening, polluting, and disfiguring. In the Southeast, they are the weapon of choice for crepe murder – just happened across the street in a neighbor’s yard. I’m conflicted, though. The workers committing these crimes against nature are out there in the baking sun and cold rain toiling away, trying to make an honest living by giving us what we want (or what their boss thinks we want, or the HOA says we need…)
Hey, Don! No doubt they’re underpaid, as well as under-trained. Hand-pruning takes training and more time, too, but still I think some people, with means, would pay more for skilled pruning if it were offered.
Hi, Susan! 100% agree. It’s also a matter of valuing things so skilled landscape workers (and early childhood educators, and sustainable farmers, and grassroots creative artists – long list) are paid fairly, have a path to mastering their disciplines, and granted the respect they merit. Can you imagine AI pruning now? Our gardens looking like video game backdrops (already happening?)
We see the same landscaping mishaps here in suburban American South. Landscaping employees are trained to mow, blow and trim shrubs into a universal shape. It is efficient but artificial.
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I like the diverse range of landscapes you explored on your trip to Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. From the modern architecture and succulent gardens to the vibrant pops of color against the desert backdrop, each garden tells a unique story. Your journey through these communities, from the golfing neighborhoods to the private oases with pools and lush greenery, offers a glimpse into the lifestyle and design aesthetics of Southern California. Thank you for sharing your experiences and captivating photographs with us!