The Living Desert’s Palo Verde Garden Center

Great place to learn about and see desert plants. This visit there was not as large of a selection as usual.

This little on-​site nursery allows you to take a little piece of the desert back home with you.
I enjoy walking through this nursery just to smell all of their sage plants. The surrounding landscape is also something that’s worth a walk through with the various water features and stone displays.
— This is part of the Living Dessert Zoo, so you have to access the zoo first.
— Check out the Living Desert Members emails for discounts and sale events.

We love this place. We’ve been here several times with our kids. They have programs for children during the week. The staff are friendly. There may not be many animals in the park, but it really appears the park has done a lot to expand.
I’m not sure what people were expecting when they went to a zoo in the middle of the desert. It’s a weird expectation for anyone to expect something as luscious and green as the San Diego Zoo. It is called The Living Desert, after all.
The giraffe exhibit is my favorite. My kids love feeding them during feeding hours.

For nearly 20 bucks a person, this is definitely not on my re-​visit list. The wildlife is sparse and difficult to spot. After visiting zoos like San Diego’s, this was extremely disappointing.

Getting there is pretty easy. Just go on Palm Canyon Drive, keep going straight, and follow the signs.
Free parking! Lots of available parking!
If you have a AAA card, you can get in at a slightly discounted ticket price. If you feel that you’ll probably come to this place at least around 3 times or more, and you bring a significant other or friend, then I think it’s better to get the membership.
Bf and I walked around and around, enjoying all of the exhibits that they had. It’s a good-​sized place, but be aware that it’s not like LA Zoo or SD Zoo. This is a place where the desert animals are trying to survive out of the heat and, depending on when you arrive, may be blocking themselves from the sun (and your eyes). Regardless, we could see a few of the animals. The tortoise was hiding under a rock, as predicted. If you try to find the bighorns, they are probably behind the mountain during the afternoon.
A lion exhibit is coming up. Not too sure how I feel about that.
Most entertaining exhibit would probably be the meerkats. They are too adorable. And they’re a little too smart. Whenever they saw one of the employees, they’d run to them, fully knowing that those people in those uniform provide food. And if the employee is just doing maintenance, the meerkats didn’t care. They were just running around in the hopes of food dropping from the heavens. When you see three of them just hopping around their entire enclosure, your heart just melts at the cuteness. We eventually got the miniature plushies at the gift shop…
If you’re out and about, make sure to have some sunscreen on you, some lip balm, and plenty of water. Bring a snack or two; it won’t hurt. Most of the vending machines out in the area does not have their machines filled, so it’s best to just bring your own.
We enjoyed the hike up to see the faultlines. If you do the trails, make sure to be careful and stay on the trails. If you go off the trail, you may be interrupting the ecosystem more than you would’ve originally thought.

Wonderful place with good prices. Find many native species here that places like Lowe’s and Home Depot and even Mollers don’t carry. Especially good selection of sage plants. Staff is usually friendly and helpful – but frequently busy. Very helpful in getting items to car. Discount to members.

I love this place! Found it while touring the Zoo. The best nursery in the Coachella Valley. Their prices are way lower than all the other places I’ve been to. They have an awesome selection and seem to really know and care for their plants. helpful staff. Plus it in the zoo!!!

The actual gardens were nice, but the staff was horrible. The website has the hours wrong. We showed up this summer and it was already hot by 0 am, they had opened an hour earlier, and I would have loved to have known that.
Later that day I was telling my husband over lunch that I was sooooo hot we needed to go back to our hotel. One of the sales staff heard me and tried to sell us a one year membership that allows entrance one hour earlier than a single day ticket. After she left, a guy at another table eating said he bough a one year membership so that he could be allowed in early before it got really hot, but they would not allow his daughter early entrance. She came to visit and the ticket sales people said that she’d have to wait at the front gate for an hour until non-​members were allowed in. What is the point in buying a membership if your guests can’t come in with you? And what heartless sales people would make a 16 year old and her dad sit for an hour waiting for the non-​member entry time? How tacky.
The garden was nice, but don’t get suckered into the membership unless you plan to come alone.

A demonstration garden and nursery of desert /​low water plants. Profits go to support the Living Desert zoo next door. So buy a cactus for the animals!