There is an active botanical society in your town:
http://www.montrosegardens.org...
You can visit the Montrose Botanic Gardens for free.
http://www.montrosegardens.org...
For local information you could check there.
Here on All Things Plants we have members from all over, some of whom may have lived in climates similar to your challenging high desert gardening requirements. Some folks check in every hour and some only a few times a week. Just leave your question and folks will pop in with new information.
