Desert Landscaping Plants Are Easy to Grow
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Get more ideas on landscaping visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas
