Moorten Botanical Garden, Palm Springs
It is a one acre of charming desert plants and rare cacti and it is still family run and owned. Moorten family moved to California in the 20ties and decided to follow their dream and do what they love - collecting and cultivating desert plants. Chester and Patricia Moorten bought a land at the corner of South Palm Canyon Drive with a small house with five palm trees in 1950s. This is where they stared building their life and business together. The Moortnes loved desert plants and not long after they moved in the acre turned into a beautiful desert garden with local plants. The garden attracted their first celebrity clients such as Jimmy Van Heusen, Frank Sinatra, Walt Disney. Fashion stores such as Saks Fifth Ave and Neiman Marcus ordered plants for their window displays regularly. Patricia, after completing her studies in botany, published number of books on succulents and designed the first in the world "cactarium". The greenhouse for cacti is still a home of unique specimens collected by the family over the years.
The Moorten Botanical Garden today is run by the son, Clark Moorten and is Palm Spring's landmark. The family house is still there and the cactarium is one of the most instagramable places in Palm Springs.
