High Desert Native Plants LLC

04/12/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to ‘s annual FloraFest! We had a blast!

03/24/2026

Join us for World Water Week! Our very own, Michael Cactusman Gaglio will be presenting today!

Green stormwater infrastructure for El Paso: What should it look like – and how do we get there?
Slowing the movement of water results in tangible benefits: healthier trees, cooler streets, reduced stormwater infrastructure, improved water quality and aquifer recharge of our most precious resource.
Panelists from diverse backgrounds and expertise will discuss the current status, opportunities, and future of the Slow Water movement in El Paso, and begin discussion of What To Do Next.

Presenters: Maya Sanchez, Mike Gaglio, Jennifer Barr, Sarah Hurteau, Oscar Villalobos, Jorge Castillo, Emigdio Gonzalez
Time: 1:25p - 3:00p
Location: UTEP Campus - IDRB Auditorium 2.204

Follow the link for more details!
YOU CAN ALSO JOIN VIRTUALLY!!!

World Water Week Community Organizations TablingTabling at World Water Week is a fantastic opportunity to engage with a diverse audience of community organizations passionate about water-related issues.  

03/20/2026

HDNP will be presenting and tabling at the…
Landscape Expo: Learn How to Create an Amazing water-smart Landscape!

3.21.26 | 10am-2pm | TecH2O Center | 10751 Montana Ave.

landscape Talks:
10:00am - Design your Yard
10:45am - Plants that Survive
11:30am - DIY Water Harvesting & Landscape
12:15pm - Maintaining your Landscape
1:00pm - Smart Irrigation

FEATURING:
landscape design basics | ask the expert tables | irrigation tips | garden activity for kids | soil testing info

03/01/2026

High Desert Native Plants had the honor of sponsoring ‘s “Pave The Way” 5k run and family fun walk! Some of our team participated and we even had some WINNERS there today! Woohoo!

12/03/2025

We’ll be here vending Poinsettias! Join us on Friday and Saturday 6pm-9pm!

The park will be lit up with luminarias and the event will feature live music, story telling and vendors.

More: https://www.ktsm.com/news/keystone-heritage-park-to-host-luminaria-event/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KTSM_9_News

Photo courtesy of Keystone Heritage Park page

11/15/2025

It’s been one week since we completed our two session Tree Planting event at 📍Ascarate Park in partnership with where we planted a total of 200 trees!

Thank you all so much for coming out! Planting native trees is so important for our overall health as a community and the world! When we come together, it’s easy to make a difference that benefits us all!

We’ll see you next time! And if you decide you’d like to plant your tree, give us a call!

#915

10/07/2025

TREE PLANTING EVENT AT ASCARATE PARK
Saturday | 10.18.25 | 9:00 AM
Saturday | 11.8.25 | 9:00 AM
Volunteers Needed!
100 trees will be planted each weekend!
Help us transform Ascarate Park!

In Partnership with:
Texas A&M Forest Service, PDNHF, County of El Paso, & High Desert Native Plants

Team Lead Tree Planting Training will occur at
7:30 AM before each event

#915

10/06/2025

06/24/2025

If you have rainwater in barrels that are full, now might be a good time to water your lawn and plants with that collected water. If it rains in the next few days you can collect more water!

Send a message to learn more

05/22/2025

Restoration Aims to Mitigate Dust Impacts

“We are witnessing the 21st century North American Dust Bowl,” said Mike Gaglio, the owner of High Desert Native Plants in El Paso.

Gaglio, a rain harvester and desert landscaper, has a front row seat to the dust barreling through the region on his twice-weekly drives between El Paso and the Lordsburg Playa. Since 2016, he’s worked on a project with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) to mitigate dust through ecological restoration at the playa.

Interstate highways are particularly dangerous places when a dust storm hits. Where Interstate-10 crosses the Lordsburg Playa, 21 people have died in crashes during dust events and the highway has been closed for safety 39 times since 2012, according to NMDOT.

Overgrazing has stripped the land, managed by the New Mexico State Land Office and the Bureau of Land Management, of vegetation. This leaves ample dust and sand to blow.

“Cattle grazing in the arid West is a big ecological disaster,” Gaglio said.

He and other partners have developed a process of plowing and then creating indentations in the soil to prevent run-off before seeding native drought-resistant plants like blue and black grama grass. Blowing dust has been successfully reduced in the initial restoration area. Cattle grazing is now restricted on 3,000 acres, half of which has been restored.

Gaglio said grazing, monocrop agriculture and urban development are all “destroying” desert soils and unleashing more dust. To restore desert ecosystems and mitigate dust, communities and land managers need to change how water moves through the landscape, he said.

“Because we get so little rain, we must take care of every drop of rain we get and hold it on the landscape.”

Scientists say drought and climate change are driving the severe dust storms pummeling the border region of Chihuahua, New Mexico and Texas.

05/21/2025

Our very own, Mike Gaglio, will be presenting as part of Dona Ana Soil & Water Conservation District (DASWCD)’s Watershed Conservation Educational Webinar Series! Join us in learning about Rainwater Harvesting: Keyline Plowing & Imprinting!

May 27th 6:00-7:30 PM
Register at daswcd.org or go to the link in our bio!