| A Visit to the Moorten Botanical Garden |
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 Flowers in the DesertPalm Springs, California Story and Photos by Janet Walker For more Janet Walker photos of the Moorten Botanical Garden, click here. Living the good life in the desert by Palm Springs, Calif., causes the rest of the country to think we are spoiled. I really can’t disagree. Right now, many botanical gardens on the East Coast are closed, but Moorten Botanical Garden at 1701 Palm Canyon Dr. in Palm Springs welcomes visitors on a daily basis. If you have fallen in love with the proliferation of unique and unusual plants that the desert has produced, you will feel right at home at the Garden.  Chester “Cactus Slim” Moorten, a self-taught botanist and his wife Patricia started the business in 1938, and his son Clark Moorten now manages it. An older photo of the couple is displayed on the reception desk, reminding visitors of Palm Springs’ early days. There is even a wall built from the bricks of the first motel in Palm Springs. “Cactus Slim” bought them when the motel was torn down. Back in The Day, it wasn’t unusual for locals to get together with Hollywood stars and help them with things like landscaping and decorating. That’s what “Cactus Slim” did for Frank Sinatra and Walt Disney. He also helped Disney with the design of Frontierland at Disneyland.The amazing variety of succulents, cacti and exotic trees fascinate visitors, and harkens back to times that were less intense, when passing celebrities on a garden path was no big deal, and the focus was on a pleasant afternoon. Cynthia Berg and Eric Cords of Palo Alto found their way to the Gardens by accident — they were looking for the Living Desert, but were pleasantly surprised when they entered the gates and found the peaceful retreat that lay beyond. “We really enjoyed the grounds, and I especially was interested in the Crested Cactus,” commented Cords.  Moorten knows his plants and rattles off the various names lickety-split. I personally loved the beautiful Agave specimen, and the many Golden Barrels that seemed to huddle together. An odd-looking root type plant called Adenium swazicum reminded me of what might have resulted from a Modligiani/Picasso collaboration. But there is more: flowering Stapelia, Bombax, Mammilaria, Welwitschia, Cleistocactus straussii, Wax Plant, and a Palo Verde Tree. You’ll forgive me if I don’t go into further detail, since there are more than 2,000 varieties to peruse.Weddings can be arranged near the gravity-defying leaning tree, and the lawn area can accommodate about 100 guests. The Spanish-style adobe houses a bride’s room, where she and her attendants can prepare for the ceremony. Moorten’s green thumb is put to work by propagating some of his stock so that the public can purchase their favorites for their own yards. The mention of the foreboding-sounding Echinopsis Chameracaus made me a little uneasy, although it only means “Peanut Cactus.” Other varieties were less intimidating, such as “Fairy Castle.” Crates of Echeveria and Kalanchoe waited for pickup by gardeners promoting the desert theme. Moorten’s Botanical Garden is a place that puts the mind at ease, and nudges the memory to reflect on Palm Springs when the living was truly easy. Maybe it was all the shades of lavender, purple and green, or that the admission was very reasonable, but when I left it was with an immense sense of calm. For more Janet Walker photos of the Moorten Botanical Garden, click here. |
