Easy Care 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.
The various varieties of the cacti, with their sharp thorns, have been used as a fence to ward off predatory animals and other uninvited guests. They can also be used to protect a vegetable from animals that enjoy stealing your prized tomatoes. The short and stout "Barrel Cactus" would be very uninviting.
A desert landscape can be very striking but there may be areas of the yard that are in the shade all day and will require the use of landscape shade plants. By visiting your local garden shop you will find the many varieties that do will in your particular climate.
There are numerous desert landscaping plants to pick from. We have provided names and descriptions of just a few of the many desert landscaping and landscape shade plants. You can ask your local nursery for advice of what does exceptionally well in your area.
The Opuntia Robusta, this is a very, very impressive plant. Commonly called "Dinner Plate Cactus" due to the huge size the round and flat leaves can grow to. We sometimes get these growing upwards of 16 inches across!
Desert Spoon: This particular plant does best in arid climates and was at one time, used for fiber and food by Native Americans. The plant will grow between five and eight feet high and depending on the exact species, some will produce a bloom topped with red, long plumes that complement the gray green foliage.
Golden Barrel: This desert plant has beautiful gold flowers with gold colored foliage. At maturity, the plant will reach about four feet high and three feet in diameter.
Landscape Shade Plants for the Desert
Astilbes: These plants have wonderful, plume like flowers of red, pink, and white that will bloom for a long time. As a perennial, the flower will grow back year after year while growing perfectly in a shaded area.
The hosta plant is another great shade plant. The large variety available range from some with variegated leaves, solid green, gold or bluish green. They are perennials, returning each year larger than the last.
Liriope Spicata: Another excellent shade plant, this one appears like grass, which is why it is more often referred to as border grass. The flowers are spiked in shape and while in bloom the color changes from white to purple then in the fall, a dark berry grows.
The Foxglove which is better known as a day lily grows well both in the sun and shade. It will produce unusual looking flowers of different colors depending on the species. The Foxglove is a poisonous plant so it should be kept out of reach of children and pets.
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