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A Rainbow Of Color In The Desert Garden

AZ Plant Lady
Globe Mallow
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Journey with me through the garden to see the rainbow of color that awaits…. inspired by my fellow blogger, Rebecca of Prefer To Be In The Garden.

Globe Mallow

  Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)

RED blossoms cover my Globe Mallow in January.  Bees happily collect pollen from their cup-shaped flowers.  The bees are grateful that blooms will continue until the summer months arrive.

Red Yucca

 Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)

RED plumes of flowers with their yellow throats decorate the Red Yucca in my father-in-law’s garden.  Flowering will continue until fall for this succulent plant.

Desert Garden, Orange Jubilee

Desert Garden, Orange Jubilee (Tecoma x Jubilee)

ORANGE tubular flowers entice hummingbirds throughout the year on my Orange Jubilee shrub that grows over 6 ft. tall.  Although flowers slow in the winter, I was able to find some protected from the frost under the eaves of my house.

Desert Garden, Red Bird-of-Paradise

Desert Garden, Red Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

ORANGE, red and yellow flowers cover this beautiful shrub throughout the summer and fall months.  I view them through my kitchen window and appreciate their beauty.  Butterflies love them as well.

Desert Garden, Arizona Yellow Bells

Desert Garden, Arizona Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans stans)

YELLOW flowers adorn my large Yellow Bells shrub, attracting both bees and hummingbirds.  I enjoy their blooms beginning March and lasting through November.

Desert Garden

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana)

YELLOW, daisy-like flowers bloom throughout the winter and spring on this low-growing ground cover.  Bright winter color, drought-tolerant and low-maintenance makes this perennial a favorite of mine. 

Desert Garden

Smooth Leaf Agave (Agave desmettiana)

GREEN leaves of my Agave are wet with raindrops after a November rain.

Floss Silk Tree

Floss Silk Tree (Ceiba speciosa / formerly Chorisia speciosa)

GREEN colors the trunk of the Floss Silk tree, decorated with circular thorns. 

Blue Viola

Blue Viola

BLUE Violas with their yellow throats brighten a winter’s day.

Rosemary

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

BLUE, tiny flowers bloom among the leaves, proving that Rosemary is not just a popular herb, but is also beautiful.

Baja Ruellia

 Baja Ruellia (Ruellia peninsularis) 

PURPLE flowers decorated with white and yellow, decorate this lovely shrub with beautiful blossoms throughout the entire year.

Goodding's Verbena

Goodding’s Verbena (Glandularia gooddingii)

PURPLE clusters of flowers nestle between boulders on this Verbena plant.

What kind of plants and flowers make up the rainbow in your garden? 

Using Plants In Place of Curtains

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
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https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/DSC_0134.jpg 426 640 arizonaplantlady@gmail.com https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AZ-Plant-Lady-Logo-small.jpg arizonaplantlady@gmail.com2010-01-26 17:05:002021-03-07 08:52:05A Rainbow Of Color In The Desert Garden
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29 replies
  1. Rosey Pollen
    Rosey Pollen says:
    January 26, 2010 at 6:55 pm

    Noelle,
    The colors in your rainbow are supremely vivid! Good job…what a feast for the eyes!

  2. Melissa
    Melissa says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    I LOVE the orange jubliee and agave photos – they show a "good eye" and nice use of color and selective focus. Thanks for stopping by my blog and I'll take your comments there as encouragement to pull out some of my English garden tour photos for a post at some point. Happy gardening!

  3. Darla
    Darla says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    How nice to see the rainbow of colors today!

  4. Kyna
    Kyna says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    I love all the bright colours of your flowers! That 'Floss Silk Tree' is so neat…in the picture it looks like it's sprouting chocolate chips instead of thorns lol.

  5. Kiki
    Kiki says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Wow..Fantastic rainbow post!! Super gorgeous array..yay!That was fun!!

  6. Cyndy
    Cyndy says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    Desert bloom rocks! Superb photos – thanks for sharing them.

  7. Catherine@AGardenerinProgress
    Catherine@AGardenerinProgress says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    What a beautiful post! It's fun seeing your rainbow, because aside from the rosemary and Pansies I don't see any of those plants growing around here. I love the Orange Jubilee and the red Bird of Paradise.

  8. jeansgarden
    jeansgarden says:
    January 26, 2010 at 7:58 pm

    Noelle, I love all those reds and oranges, and especially the Bird of Paradise. Gorgeous colors! -Jean

  9. Liza
    Liza says:
    January 26, 2010 at 8:22 pm

    Your photos are really fabulous. You've got a great eye.

  10. Kathleen
    Kathleen says:
    January 26, 2010 at 10:10 pm

    Wowza Noelle. You have a spectacular rainbow in your garden. I am officially in love with the "Red-Bird-of-Paradise" plant. I've never seen it before but it's such a showy, vibrant plant. Looks like it gets pretty tall too? Truthfully, all your color choices are fabulous and that Floss Silk Tree photo is FANTASTIC!!!! I would blow that up and frame it!

  11. Joanne
    Joanne says:
    January 26, 2010 at 10:23 pm

    All lovely and colourful but especially like the Yellow Bells.

  12. debsgarden
    debsgarden says:
    January 26, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    You have a terrific view out of your kitchen window! The Orange Jubilee shrub is amazing. All of these plants are beautiful. It reminds me of the first time I was in Arizona. It was March, and we drove from Phoenix through the desert up to Sedona. I was astonished at all the gorgeous blooming flowers. I had thought Arizona desert was a wasteland – how wrong i was!

  13. fairegarden
    fairegarden says:
    January 26, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    All so lovely and festive, Noelle, but my mouth dropped open all the way to the keyboard at the sight of the red bird of paradise! What astonishing brilliance on this wintry day. Thanks. 🙂
    Frances

  14. Carol
    Carol says:
    January 26, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    Beautiful rainbow blooms from your desert garden Noelle! They are all so lovely and vibrant but I am drawn to your green Floss Silk Tree … surreal … a cross between chocolate kisses and tepees in a landscape. I have not done anything to make me see funny! This image is so amazing! You wonder what it produces up top that it is protecting… I would not want to climb this tree. ;>)

  15. Skeeter
    Skeeter says:
    January 26, 2010 at 11:46 pm

    The Red Bird of Paradise is a rainbow in itself! I enjoyed seeing your hummer visitor! I cant wait for my humming friends to arrive this spring…

  16. Floridagirl
    Floridagirl says:
    January 26, 2010 at 11:50 pm

    Beautiful colors! You are right, Noelle, we do grow many of the same plants. Your floss-silk tree does have the strangest shape to the thorns. The ones on my tree on long–up to 3 inches. I wonder if it is a different cultivar or maybe it's the desert environ that makes it different.

  17. Grace Peterson
    Grace Peterson says:
    January 27, 2010 at 12:45 am

    Hi Noelle~~ Lovely flowers. I especially love the Hesperaloe and hope that my last year's newbie will bloom this summer. What a plant.

  18. Janet
    Janet says:
    January 27, 2010 at 2:25 am

    Great rainbow of color. That Bird of Paradise is really nice.

  19. Kate
    Kate says:
    January 27, 2010 at 4:32 am

    Hi, Noelle;
    That floss silk tree is incredible. What a nice collection. It's really been fun roaming around the blogosphere viewing everyone's rainbow posts. 🙂

  20. Kelly@LifeOutOfDoors
    Kelly@LifeOutOfDoors says:
    January 27, 2010 at 4:55 am

    Who knew there could be so much color in the desert! Thanks for sharing, and for checking out lifeoutofdoors.com. I am forwarding your link immediately to my friend in Phoenix, an avid gardener transplanted from St. Louis who's still trying to get used to a land with no trees. Take care,

    Kelly

  21. Evelyn Howard
    Evelyn Howard says:
    January 27, 2010 at 7:56 am

    Fantastic photos!! What a great garden! You are making me think… I am missing purple.

  22. Bernie
    Bernie says:
    January 27, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    Beautiful colours … you have some terrific plants. We do have some plants in common. Love the bark on the ceiba … we have a native silk cotton tree – Bombax ceiba leiocarpum – that has interesting bark as well.

    Thanks for visiting my blog … and I'm happy to say I had a great Australia Day!

  23. gippslandgardener
    gippslandgardener says:
    January 27, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    Beautiful photos Noelle! I have to admit to a soft spot for the sweet little viola – they always make me smile!

  24. Gail
    Gail says:
    January 27, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    They are a rainbow of delightful flowers…but the silk tree's thorns are fantastic! gail

  25. jodi (bloomingwriter)
    jodi (bloomingwriter) says:
    January 27, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    Once again I heave a great sigh of delight, seeing all these plants that I can't grow, but enjoy in your garden. Lovely rainbow…

  26. sweet bay
    sweet bay says:
    January 28, 2010 at 1:26 am

    Many of those flowers are so different from what I see around here — I love the Jubilee and Bird-of-Paradise and Tecoma. Very beautiful!

  27. arizonaplantlady@gmail.com
    arizonaplantlady@gmail.com says:
    January 28, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    Thank you all for your wonderful comments. I appreciate them all :^)

  28. bloominrs
    bloominrs says:
    February 3, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    I love your desert rainbow!

  29. Rebecca @ In The Garden
    Rebecca @ In The Garden says:
    February 9, 2010 at 6:34 pm

    Hi Noelle, I'm so sorry I missed this wonderful post! Your desert plants are always so interesting and new to me. The agave is especially lovely. 🙂

Comments are closed.

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Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."

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