The high desert is full of surprises, but visitors are more likely to experience a UFO sighting than stumble upon one of the largest orchid farms in North America.
Traveling through Yucca Valley on the way to Joshua Tree, hang a left at the memorably named Old Woman Springs Road and drive 20 miles up to the town of Landers. Perhaps best known as the home of The Integratron, an acoustically perfect wooden dome where seekers and spiritualists take “sound baths” amongst crystal quartz “singing bowls,” Landers is also the headquarters of Gubler Orchids: a colorful jungle in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
Park in the gravel lot and step inside a cool, wet, wonderland of flowers. The friendly staff gives hourly tours of the greenhouse. But be sure to wear closed-toed shoes, as flip-flops and sandals are strictly forbidden among the watering orchids. It’s a feast for the eyes (and nose) with over 60 varieties of orchids blooming at any time.
Giant white Phalaenopsis, purple-hued Cymbidiums, sculptural Lady Slippers and intricate Dendrobiums grow row upon row. Orchid tender and tour guide Jane Hoffman has worked more than 20 years for the Gubler family. “I’m one of those lucky people who have a job that I love,” she explains as she walks the greenhouse.
The shop also grows and sells rare carnivorous plants like Venus Flytraps and sweet-smelling Pitcher Plants that attract bugs within their leaves before closing up and devouring them. They also cultivate massive Staghorn Ferns mounted on wooden plaques to resemble trophy bucks you might see over a stone fireplace. Beautiful as they are, they’re not suited for the dry desert climate. The ferns and carnivorous plants are headed to other destinations around the country. Gubler delivers to retail outlets such as Ralphs, Kroger, and Home Depot stores all over the lower 48. Chances are, if you’ve ever bought an orchid it’s a Gubler.
Founded near Zurich in 1918, patriarch Heinrich Gubler and his son Hans supplied the upper crust of Switzerland with specimens that fed the Victorian-era fascination with exotic flowers. In the mid-1950s his son moved the company (and family) to Los Angeles, settling first in Malibu and later Altadena.
Hans and his wife sold orchids out of the back of their station wagon for many years, eventually making the Gubler name synonymous with the flamboyant blooms. Needing room for expansion in the 1980s, they purchased the acreage in Landers, a flat spot that had previously been a stagecoach stop
Today the company is run by third generation Chris Gubler, Heinrich’s grandson, who helped to oversee a massive rebuilding and renovation of the greenhouses, which were nearly destroyed on June 28, 1992 when a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck less than a mile from the nursery. They reopened in 1995.
The population of Landers swells every second weekend in October as thousands of visitors arrive for the Morongo Basin Orchid Festival, now in its 22nd year. A fundraiser for the local Rotary Club, the event raises thousands of dollars distributed to local charities.
Gubler Orchids, 2200 Belfield Boulevard, Landers. 760-364-2282; gublers.com.