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.

Get more ideas on landscaping visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Desert Landscaping

Desert Landscaping Guide

The desert conjures up images of hot days and cool nights, along with images of cacti and sand. The desert can experience such a range of temperature changes and your desert landscaping needs to be hardy enough to tolerate these extremes.

Evergreen shrubs and trees survive well in high terrain deserts, because they withstand the heat and tolerate the cold. Many cactus plants are cold hardy, which is why they survive in the desert. This surprises many people, because they think of cactus as hot area plants.

If you have a home in the dry area with extremes of temperature and want to do some desert landscaping around your house the best place to buy your plants is from your local nursery. The nurseryman understands the complexities of desert weather and orders plants that will do well in your desert landscaping. Locally grown plants will obviously thrive and grow in your area.

Desert Landscaping: Water With Care

If you stick to plants that are native to the area in which you live, watering your yard shouldn’t be an issue. However, if you want to grow flowers, vegetables, or other plants that don’t normally grow in the desert, you need to make sure that you provide a source of water to your desert landscaping. Before you design your desert yard, check with your local authorities to make sure that there are no watering restrictions in your city or county.

Once you have established how much water you require have a watering plan. The easiest way to water your lawn and garden is with a timed sprinkler system. Set your timer to go off in the very early morning hours, so that the water can seep into the ground before the sun rises and causes it to evaporate. Choose a drip irrigation system to water your shrubs and ground covers and you will see minimal waste.

If you want to cut back on the amount of watering your desert landscaping requires, fill your yard with gravel or rocks instead of grass. This low maintenance alternative to grass looks attractive in a desert setting. One caveat to rocks is that light colored gravel will reflect the sun’s heat, causing your yard to seem even hotter each afternoon.

So in conclusion, if you live in a dry and arid climate then your desert landscaping is going to take a little more planning than some other parts of the country. Desert landscaping will have to work with a plan that includes only plants and trees that can survive with much less water than some other plants. There is no point in planting something if it can not sustain itself afterwards. So take some time with your desert landscaping plan and make sure that you have done everything suited to the climate.