We are currently closed while we propagate and grow plants for fall.
We’ll reopen on October 1 for the next planting season
Native Plant Nursery
Native plants for wildlife habitats throughout the Coachella Valley
Visit the Nursery | Buy Native Plants | Take a Tour | Attend a Workshop
Learn | Desert Plant List | Choosing the Right Plants | Garden Maintenance
DesertStrawHouse is located in the community of Sky Valley in the Coachella Valley, just 20 minutes from downtown Palm Springs and about 40 minutes from Joshua Tree National Park.
We welcome visitors from throughout the Coachella Valley and Morongo Basin, including Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, Coachella, Bermuda Dunes, Desert Hot Springs, Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms, Morongo Valley, and surrounding communities. Many of our customers also make the trip from Riverside, Lucerne Valley, Barstow, Los Angeles, and beyond.
Plants for Wildlife Habitats
We specialize in plants that support wildlife habitats. A wildlife habitat provides food, shelter, places to raise young, and safe spaces to rest and nest. Our focus is on plants native to our local desert, as well as regional natives and desert-adapted plants that thrive in climates like ours.
Some of the plants we sell: Beavertail Cactus, Bladderpod, Blue Palo Verde, Brittlebush, Chuparosa, Creosote, Deer Grass, Desert Agave, Desert Globe Mallow, Desert Wild Grape, Desert Willow, Honey Mesquite, Ironwood, Jojoba, Pink Fairy Duster, Purple Three-Awn, Rush Milkweed, Sweetbush, White Sage
Growing Vegetables in the Desert
Gardening in the Coachella Valley doesn't follow a traditional calendar. Learn what to plant each month with our month-by-month planting guide, seasonal tips, and growing advice developed from more than 30 years of gardening in our desert climate. Our guides continue to evolve as we learn and our climate changes.
Lisha Astorga has been gardening in the Coachella Valley for more than 30 years, specializing in native landscapes, wildlife habitats, vegetable gardens, and sustainable practices. The plants we grow, the guides we write, the workshops we teach, and the advice we share are all rooted in firsthand experience.
Over the years, Lisha has shared her knowledge through lectures, workshops, guided tours, and educational programs for homeowners, schools, nonprofits, and community organizations throughout the Coachella Valley. She has led landscape revitalization and turf conversion projects, coordinated community garden tours and educational events, and spent more than a decade teaching sustainable gardening at Palm Springs High School.
Today, Lisha continues to share that experience through DesertStrawHouse's native plant nursery, demonstration gardens, workshops, educational resources, and year-round wildlife monitoring. Whether you're planting your first wildlife garden or restoring an established landscape, our goal is to help you create a landscape that thrives in the desert while living in balance with nature.