The Coachella Valley Water District has some nice photos of gardens in your area. They may give you an idea of what to plant.

Renee

Here is a link that might be useful: Coachella Water District Photos

The best nursery for checking out plants is Moller's:

Moller's Garden Center
72-235 Painter's Path
Palm Desert
760.346.0545

Carla in Sac

My son owns a home there. I thought that looking at the various restuarants in the area was a great source of planting ideas as they want to look great from outside in. You do have sandy soil so building it up with other soil improvement products would help. I think from pure beauty, your area can come up with gorgeous colors in planting.

Hi "toffe-el" and belated happy B-Day

I live in Joshua Tree and learning about what to plant up here. As already mentioned, check with your local water district and look around your immediate well established neighborhoods for signs of successful landscapes. You ask for "what will work" in your Palm Desert... but that would take up a few hundred lines to list.

For certain, you should learn what your average temps are over the course of a year and look around for signs of winds. This means driving around and observing which way trees and similar plants tend to "lean". Many plants root shallow and/or may be easily damaged by high winds. Others may be damaged by sunburn. Keep in mind that trees, shrubs and similar "shade" plants that grow fast usually are also brittle and subject to wind damage.

Soil condition is another aspect to consider. Alkaline or acidic or neutral. Your water dept can help with that question. Placing a plant in the "sand" that requires a rich soil may require expensive installation of soil amendment materials to "change" the Ph factor suitable to the "foreign" planting.

I've been researching hundreds of "plants" over the Internet through the past 4-5 years since moving to Joshua Tree. Nearly all the information for "desert" landscaping stems from Arizona... particularly around Phoenix, which is NOT the same as your Coachella Valley or my area of the Morongo Basin. Both our regions encompass two desert ecosystems: the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts but not the same conditions as Phoenix.

As a last comment, nurseries and similar plant retailers can be a good source of suggestions, but, keep in mind also that they are in business to make money by selling their wares. Caveat emptor. Also keep in mind that not all "clerks" at retail garden centers are "experts" on plants...

If you see a successful plant but don't know what it is, ask to take a suitable clipping, present it to a knowledgeable plant grower for identification to establish a list of desirable plants you will consider for your landscape.

While this missive doesn't answer your question directly, I hope it helps you while making your decisions on "what to plant".

Bill Ford - Joshua Tree

Please visit the The Living Desert Museum (although it's more of a botanical garden/zoo)
in Palm Desert. They have many wonderous plants situated throughout their grounds and a nice garden center with knowledgeable staff... I try to stop by everytime I pass through the area and I also end up buying a few plants for my desert garden here in the Sacramento area.

A link to their garden center is noted below...

Here is a link that might be useful: Palo Verde Garden Center