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Desert Landscaping Plants

The folks in the Southwest part of our country get to enjoy the beauty and ease of gardening with desert landscaping plants.  They need little water, are hardy and also easy to transplant. They come in many interesting types, some with beautiful blossoms and others with unique shapes.

In addition to using plants for landscaping, which might include yucca, various types of cacti, and so on, you will also find that desert gardens can be used in vegetable garden plans.  For instance, fruits and vegetables usually grow exceptionally well in dry climates although you would need to make sure they get adequate watering.

Desert landscaping plants are perfect for an area that gets direct sun all day.  Commonly the north side of your home is in the shade most of the day.  Landscape shade plants will do will in this part of the yard and add some variety to your landscape plans.  Shade plants can produce some beautiful flowers as well.

Regarding some of the desert landscaping plants and landscape shade plants, we wanted to provide you with some excellent options that you might consider.  Those listed below are just a few samples of the hundreds of possibilities.

Agave Americana: The interesting form and the plant’s high tolerance to heat, drought, cold, sun, and even poor soils makes this an ideal all-around plant.  The Agave Americana will grow anywhere from one to six feet tall, developing into unique styles of leafs and beautiful colors.

Opuntia phaecantha variety discata, This is a very hardy plant that can survive in cold weather and will produce a beautiful deep yellow flower in the spring and summer months. It does tend to crawl along the ground and root as it goes. It has very sharp long spines that can be dangerous if planted around children.

The Agave, also known as the “century plant,” because of the legendary flower stalk that is said to only bloom every one hundred years. The truth is that it produces the flower stalk at the end of its life, which can be as long as twenty to thirty five years. They have been grown for fiber for ropes, some for tequila, and some are said to have a delicious meat inside that is very good baked.

Landscape Shade Plants for the Desert

Another great shade plant is the astilbes, also known as the feather flower, due to the shape of its blooms which are puffy, feather like spires that come in white, ivory, pink, red and purple. For an easy care plant with lots of color, great texture and toughness astilbes would be a great addition to your garden.

Hostas are another shade variety that blends in well with desert landscaping plants.  They are perennials that come in several types, some with solid green or variegated leaves.  They produce flowers white, pink or purple flowers and can grow in full or partial shade.

Another type of shade plant is the Liriope Spicata.  This plant resembles grass and is sometime called border grass.  It has flowers the turn from white to purple when it is blooming then a dark berry grows on the plant in the fall.

Foxglove:  Known more commonly as day lilies, these plants grow extremely well in shade and sun, producing long stems that grow exotic looking flowers of varying colors depending on the species but keep in mind, Foxglove is poisonous so you want to keep it out of reach of pets and smaller children.

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