Some of the biggest challenges to desert gardening are solved with correct plant choice. There are lots of good books on gardening with desert plants, especially with native species. I would not be surprised if there are more species at your disposal in a subtropical desert climate such as Phoenix than NE WA state. The problem is when plant choices from WA, or NY, or coastal CA become popular in desert areas, such as folks trying to grow a lawn in the desert.

That said, there are many specific gardening practices for desert areas that are crucial to success, and the establishment period is certainly much longer and trickier in arid climates compared to wetter ones. Again, there are lots of good books, I'll try to think of some to list here.

P.S. This particular forum is quite dead, so don't expect too many responses here (you could try the AZ forum too).

Have you contacted your local Ext. Office or Master Gardeners group for plant recommendations or help with gardening?