Types of Desert Landscaping Plants

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.

While creating a look using desert landscaping plants, you might find that you have some areas of the property or perhaps a side of the home with lots of shade.  Obviously, this would require you to use landscape shade plants, those that will handle the hot and dry climate but also do well growing in shade.  Again, the possibilities are tremendous, giving you great coverage and beautiful blooms during the year.

Listed below are just a few of the hundreds of varieties of desert landscape plants as well as a few landscape shade plants.  The hot and dry climates produce many beautiful and hearty plants to choose from.

Opuntia Varieties, or better known as the prickly pear due to its colorful fruit-shaped flower bud.  The bud blooms into the most beautiful, almost rose like flower.

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 or “century plant,” so named due to the flower stalk that is said to only bloom every one hundred years. In reality, the flower stalk appears at the end of its life, which can be as long as twenty to thirty five years. It has been used for ropes with the fiber, some for tequila, and baked and eaten.

Using Landscape Shade Plants in your Desert Garden

The Astilbe, which is also called “Feather Flower,” grows well in the shade and lots of moisture.  Because of its feather like flower it complements a cactus or desert garden nicely. The flowers can bloom from early spring to late summer and come in white, ivory purple, pink or red.

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.

The Liriope Spicata is one more great shade plant that looks like grass and is often times referred to as border grass.  The flowers turn from white to purple when in bloom then in the fall it produces a dark berry.

Often labeled a day lily the Foxglove is extremely versatile and grows equally as well in the sun as it does it the shade.  The flowers produced by this plant are striking and vary in color depending on the species.  It is however a poisonous plant and should not be exposed to children and pets.

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