Desert and cactus gardening can be a challenge in Kansas because we get almost 40 inches of rain per year. Deserts normally get under 10 inches. Winter moisture is especially harmful to hardy cacti. We can create a beautiful desert garden if the drainage is perfect and soil is well prepared with sand and rock. These conditions normally already exist on the top of a retaining wall or slope. We have also created these conditions underneath the overhang of a south facing house where itís too dry for conventional plants to grow. Adams Needle Yucca and Texas Red yucca work well in these landscapes. Rock gardens feature various sizes of carefully placed rock outcroppings and large boulders along with many types of sedum and compact alpine-looking plants.