Southwest garden

Wild About Penstemons

Arizona, desert gardening, Fuss Free Plant, Perennial, Southwest garden

I adore flowers of all kinds, but I must confess that my favorite types look as if they belong to a cottage garden, which probably explains why I am wild about penstemons.

The pink flowers of Parry’s penstemons (Penstemon parryi) adds welcome color to a spring garden.

Photo: The pink flowers of Parry’s penstemon (Penstemon parryi) adds welcome color to a spring garden.

I adore flowers of all kinds, but I must confess that my favorite types look as if they belong to a cottage garden, which probably explains why I am wild about penstemons.

There are many different species of penstemon with varying colors, ranging from shades of pink to red with some white ones thrown in.

Firecracker penstemons (Penstemon eatonii) adds vibrant color to a hummingbird demonstration garden.

Photo: Firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) adds vibrant color to a hummingbird demonstration garden.

All penstemons are native to the western half of North America where they thrive in well-drained soil. Most grow in higher elevations, and all are drought-tolerant. For those of you who love to grow native plants that are low-maintenance, penstemons are a must-have.

The 4 - 6 foot flowering spikes of Palmer's penstemons (Penstemon palmeri) lightly perfume the air of this desert landscape.

Photo: The 4 – 6 foot flowering spikes of Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) lightly perfume the air of this desert landscape.

I like plants that add a touch of drama to my garden and penstemon do a great job at that when they send up their flowering spikes that tower over their lower cluster of leaves. Bees and hummingbirds love their flowers and it is fun to watch their antics as they sneak inside the flowers for nectar.

A row of rock penstemons (Penstemon baccharifolius) adds lovely color to this area at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

Photo: A row of rock penstemon (Penstemon baccharifolius) adds lovely color to this area at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

While penstemon may look rather delicate, it is anything but as it can survive temperatures over 100 degrees and temperatures that dip anywhere from 15 degrees Fahrenheit all the way down to -30 degrees, depending on the species.

firecracker penstemons (Penstemon eatoni)

The bloom time for penstemon depends on the species as well as the climate they grow in. For desert dwellers like me, most bloom in late winter into spring. Each year, I eagerly await the appearance of the first unfolding flowering spikes of my firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatoni) to emerge in January.

In my garden, Parry’s penstemon (Penstemon parryi) is another favorite of mine in the garden, and its flowers begin to open in late February. This year, I am growing pineleaf penstemon (Penstemon pinifolius), which is a new one for me and I am curious to see how it will do.

Another penstemon that I am anxious to try is rock penstemon (Penstemon baccharifolius), which blooms spring through fall. Lastly, I have added Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri) to my garden. I used to grow it years ago and was happy to incorporate it back into my landscape.

It’s important to note that penstemon grows best when grown in the western half of North America. The season in which they bloom can vary depending on the USDA zone. In my zone 9 garden, I begin to appear in January and last through spring. For those who live in colder climates, penstemon will bloom later in spring or even begin flowering in summer. However, no matter when they bloom, penstemon are sure to add beauty to the landscape with a touch of drama.

**Do you have a favorite penstemon?

Gifts for the Gardener: Books for Water Wise Gardening

desert gardening, Drought Tolerant, Southwest garden, Vegetable Gardening

Books for Waterwise Gardening

Gardening in a dry climate comes with unique challenges where water is viewed as a precious resource and needs to be used wisely. Does that mean that you cannot have a beautiful garden? Absolutely not! You can have an attractive outdoor space filled with beautiful plants and a vegetable plot as well with proper planning with help from these water-wise books.

Today, I would like to share my final installment for gifts for the gardener by sharing not one, but two books that are worth adding to your gardening library.

*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for your support in this way.*

Waterwise gardening

If you are looking to create a drought tolerant landscape but are in need of ideas and guidance, look no further than The Water-Saving Garden, by Pam Penick.

The book opens with a chapter dedicated to inspiration with several types of water wise gardens highlighted to help the reader determine which one is right for them. Lovely, color photos of landscapes display the incredible beauty of gardens that conserve water.

Waterwise gardening

Designing a water-saving garden entails including several elements such as contouring, permeable building materials, and more to help conserve water and Pam does a great job of talking about each type and how to incorporate into the landscape.

Plants that are native or adapted to survive on little water are the backbone of the water-saving landscape, and most are surprisingly attractive. A substantial list of drought tolerant plants will have you imagining how they will look decorating your outdoor space. Helpful tips for when to plant as well as alternative locations for growing plants are included within the pages of this book, and the author doesn’t stop there – she has an entire section of how to incorporate water or the appearance of water in the landscape with water features and plants.

The Water-Saving Garden: How to Grow a Gorgeous Garden with a Lot Less Water is a book that will help readers create a water-wise landscape filled with beauty and would make a wonderful gift for the gardener in your life or yourself.

Pam has another book, Lawn Gone, which I bought a few years ago, and it sits in a prominent place in my garden library. It’s filled with inspiration and guidelines for a grass-free landscape.

Growing Vegetables in Drought, Desert & Dry Times: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening without Wasting Water

I enjoy my edible gardens very much and so I was excited when Sasquatch Books provided me with a free copy of Growing Vegetables in Drought, Desert & Dry Times: The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening without Wasting Water. I certainly wish this book had been around when I first started. Vegetable gardening comes with its set of challenges like watering efficiently and creating a micro-climate that is favorable to growing vegetables. This book addresses these issues and more.

Whether you are a beginner or have grown vegetables in a different climate, this book is a must have for those who find themselves living in an arid region.

Location, location, location is perhaps the most important part of a successful vegetable garden. Of course, not everyone has the best location and the book talks about what to take into consideration when deciding where to grow your vegetables in addition to ways to modify the dry climate to make it easier for them to grow in a dry climate.

Guidelines for growing vegetables in raised beds and even containers are provided along with how to amend the desert soil so it can sustain vegetables. Perhaps the most informative chapters for desert gardeners are those addressing several ways to irrigate as well as a list of the best varieties of vegetables for arid climates. Additional chapters teach how to control harmful pests and solve common problems.

If you or someone on your gift list is new to the desert or simply want to begin gardening, both of these books are filled with inspiration and guidance.

Toilet Paper Rolls and Vegetable Seeds…

A Welcome Gift From an Agave and a Friend

Agave, Cactus/Succulents, desert gardening, Southwest garden

The appearance of a package in my mailbox always brightens my day. Sometimes, it is the latest garden product that a company wants me to try out, or new plants to try out in my garden. But, this small box contained three small items that I had long been waiting for.

Whale’s Tongue Agave (Agave ovatifolia)

For those of you who have followed my blog for awhile, you know that agave are my favorite type of succulent. I love the beauty of their fleshy leaves arranged in rosette patterns with their pointy tips and finely toothed edges.

Two Whale’s Tongue Agave (Agave ovatifolia)

My friend and fellow blogger, Pam Penick, also knows how much I love agave. So, when her whale’s tongue agave (named ‘Moby’, after the book Moby Dick) flowered earlier this year in her Austin, Texas garden, she kindly gifted me with three of Moby’s offspring.

The three baby agave, which arrived a week ago, came from an agave that is well known throughout the garden blogger community. Pam’s agave was the focal point of her backyard and appeared in many of her blog posts.

I must admit that I fell in love with whale’s tongue agave after seeing ‘Moby’. The leaves of this agave has a unique shape with a concave dip that makes the leaves resemble the tongue of a whale. I would often stop and take pictures whenever I saw one while working and began to incorporate into my landscape designs.

Three ‘Moby’ Juniors

Pam began to chronicle the beginning of the end of Moby’s life as it began to flower and at the end, she harvested the tiny bulbils (agave babies) from the flowering stalk.

I was so honored when she emailed me to tell me that she had reserved three little ‘Moby Juniors’ for me. I’ve been anxiously awaiting their arrival and now they are finally here!

Right now, they are re-hydrating for a day or two until I get organized and get them planted. I have a few spots in mind for them in the garden. While they can grow in full sun in Texas, whale’s tongue agave does best in filtered shade or morning sun in Arizona gardens. I’ll probably plant them underneath the shade of my palo verde trees.

I am so grateful for this special gift of agave and look forward to seeing the beauty of three Moby Juniors grace my Arizona garden.

Beautiful Agave: How to Grow and Use It In Your Landscape

September Gardening Tasks: What To Do and NOT Do

Arizona, California, Southwest garden

September Gardening Tasks

After a seemingly endless summer, we have finally made it to the finish line. This is the season where we experience a ‘second spring’ and venture out into the garden again.

Soil is ready to be amended, citrus fertilized, and some light pruning can be done.

September Gardening Tasks, Un-pruned lantana on the left. Two light pruned lantana are to the right with a pile of clippings.

September is the gateway to a busy time in the garden, but there are a few things that it is still too early to start on yet.

I’ve made a video of what you should do and shouldn’t do this month:

What is your favorite season of the year?

Easy Garden Project: Create a Hummingbird Haven in a Container

10 Beautiful, Native Trees for the Southwest

Southwest garden

Native Trees for the Southwest, Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)

Trees are a treasure to us that live in the Southwest where the sun can be relentless with its intensity.

We all know the delight of stepping into the cool shade of a tree during a hot summer’s day where their canopy provides blessed relief.

Honey Mesquite Bosque (Prosopis glandulosa) at the Scottsdale Xeriscape Garden

In addition, to welcoming shade, trees also add beauty to the landscape with their lovely shades of green leaves, flowers (in some cases), and the way the dappled shade dances along the ground.

Palo Blanco (Mariosousa willardiana) formerly Acacia willardiana

There are many trees native to this region that add both shade and beauty to the garden while thriving in our arid climate.

I recently shared a list of my ten favorite, native trees for the Southwest in my latest article for Houzz.

*Do you have a favorite tree? Please share it with us!

10 Essential Native Trees for Southwestern Gardens

September Gardening Tasks: What To Do and NOT Do

10 Vines for Southwestern Landscapes

Southwest garden, Uncategorized

Vine for Southwestern Garden, Tangerine Crossvine

Vines are a wonderful way to decorate vertical surfaces with lovely shades of green as well as colorful flowers.

Queen’s Wreath

This is especially valuable in southwestern gardens where vines can help moderate the heat that re-radiates from a wall or is used to create filtered shade when they are grown up on a pergola or patio roof.

Vine for Southwestern Garden, Pink Bower Vine

I have grown several types of vines during my years living and gardening in the desert southwest and have shared my 10 favorite vines in my latest article for Houzz.

Do you have a favorite vine?

10 Flowering Vines for Southwestern Gardens

New Use for Vines

Stomach Flu and Spring Flowers

Southwest garden

It never ceases to amaze me how that despite how busy your calendar, everything grinds to a halt when you get sick. Oh, I realize that there are certain types of sickness that you can press on through like a cold or even a small fever. But, when the stomach flu hits, you are powerless to do anything.

What makes it worse is when everyone in your household gets it as well. So, we have been spending quality time together nursing our sore stomachs and anxiously awaiting the time until our appetites return.

In the meantime, the garden is undergoing some contruction.

Irrigation trenches are criss-crossing our landscape as we are having new drip irrigation installed. Our current system was first installed when we built our home 18 years ago and was having problems with numerous leaks. Considering that the typical lifespan of a drip irrigation system is 10 – 15 years, we were long overdue to have ours replaced.

While it may not seem very exciting, I am looking forward to having separate drip lines for my fruit trees, shrubs/perennials and vegetable garden.

Many plants in my garden are beginning to bloom adn I thought I would give you a peek.

colorful spring flowers

I spread a variety of flowers seeds in my side garden and some have already begun to bloom.

I planted toadflax seeds, which came in a variety of different colors.

white, pink and purple, spring flowers

I have white, pink and purple varieties adding welcome color to this area of the garden.

The seeds are from Botanical Interests and are called ‘Fairy Bouquet’ toadflax.

Another plant that has started blooming is from Renee’s Garden seed company and is called ‘Vanilla Berry’.

So far, these are the only two types of plants flowering in this garden, but the California poppies are getting ready to burst forth in different colors including white, purple, pink and of course, orange.

Citrus trees are also in full bloom perfuming the air with their intoxicating fragrance. I am hopeful that my young Meyer’s lemon tree will produce its first lemons.

The peach trees bloomed earlier this year and are now filled with immature peach fruit – I can almost taste the peach jam that I will make from them this May.

Spring Flowers, Lobelia

The cool-season annuals that I planted in the fall are still going strong. Even though they look great right now, I will replace them later this month with warm-season annuals in order to allow them time to grow a good root system before the heat of sumemr arrives.

Late winter and spring is also when my autumn sage (Salvia greggii) is also in flower. I received several different varieties, straight from the grower, to try out in my garden, which were planted last fall. They are doing great in their current location where they receive morning sun and afternoon shade.

On another note, we have been anxiously awaiting the re-emergence of our desert tortoise, Aesop.

We last saw him in late October before he went into his hole to hibernate. Since then, we’ve periodically checked on him and today, we moved slightly. So, I can’t wait to see him begin to walking out in the garden.

I’ll be sure to keep you updated.

How is your garden looking? Is anything blooming yet?

Purple Blooms for the Fall Garden

Arizona garden, California desert garden, desert gardening, Drought Tolerant, Fall Blooming Plants, Las Vegas gardening, Shrubs, Southwest garden

Fall in the garden is a time of celebration with plants enjoying the period after the heat of summer has bid goodbye and before the cold of winter arrives.

This time of year is filled colorful blooming plants decorating our outdoor spaces. In the past few weeks, the color purple has made its presence known in several gardens that I have visited recently.

If you love the color purple, here are some plants that you may want to include in your garden.

Black dalea(Dalea frutescens) saves its flowering for fall when violet flowers appear above its lacy foliage.

This Southwestern native is hardy to 15 degrees F. and does best in full sun. Black dalea is underused in the landscape and deserves to be used more.

Desert ruellia(Ruellia peninsularis) is a shrub that I use it often for my client’s designs. I love that it flowers throughout the year as well as its attractive foliage.

A native of Mexico, this shrub does best in full sun to partial shade and is hardy to zone 9 gardens.

Sometimes, parking lot medians can put on a spectacular show. This blue ranger(Leucophyllum zygophyllum) begins blooming in summer but saves its best flowering for fall.

The gray foliage adds nice color contrast in the garden. Hardy to 10 degrees, plant in full or reflected sun for maximum flowering.

One of the most beautiful purple blossoms belongs to the skyflower(Duranta erecta) shrub. Delicate purple flowers are arrayed on graceful arching stems.

Hardy to 20 degrees, skyflower blooms spring through fall.

Last week, while I was doing a landscape consultation, my attention was drawn to a beautiful blue potato bush (Lycianthies rantonnetti) blooming in the front yard.

The vibrant purple flowers contrasted beautifully with the bright green foliage. This shrub is hardy to zone 9 gardens.

Finally, let’s look at the generous blooms of purple trailing lantana(Lantana montevidensis). This lantana groundcover blooms spring through fall and needs very little care other than pruning once or twice a year.

Hardy to 20 degrees, this lantana grows in full sun or partial shade.

I hope that you have enjoyed this tour of purple autumn blooms.

What is flowering this fall in your garden?

Blooms in February

Fall Blooms for the Southwest Garden

Arizona, California, Southwest garden, Uncategorized

The beginning of fall is only a few weeks away as the long summer winds down. Fall is a wonderful time in the garden and is the best time of year for adding new plants, allowing them a chance to grow before the heat of next summer arrives.

Turpentine bush (Ericameria laricifolia) in bloom

When deciding what plants to add to your garden, many people concentrate on incorporating plants that bloom in spring and summer, but there are a number of attractive plants that bloom in fall.

Fall Blooms, Pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

Using plants with overlapping bloom periods ensure year-round beauty for your landscape.

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana)

Many plants that flower in fall also flower at other times of year as well such as damianita(Chrysactinia mexicana), Mexican honeysuckle(Justicia spicigera) and autumn sage(Salvia greggii).

Early October is a great time to start adding new plants, so now is a great time to decide what type of fall-blooming plants to add.

I recently shared 10 of my favorite, drought tolerant fall bloomers in my latest article for Houzz. I hope you’ll include some of these in your landscape where they will help to decorate your fall landscape.

10 Plants for Colorful Fall Blooms in the Drought-Tolerant Garden

Do you have a favorite fall-blooming plant?

What to Do In The Southwest Garden – September

Small Space Garden: Hummingbird Paradise

Southwest garden, Uncategorized

Picture a garden filled with colorful flowering plants with hummingbirds hovering about.

Now imagine that this garden is located in a small space against the backdrop of the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona and you have paradise.

Small Space Garden: Hummingbird Paradise

Beds filled with flowering perennials are my favorite element of gardens. Their appearance changes month to month as blooming transitions from one type of perennial to the other.

So, I was delighted to see that this hummingbird paradise was filled with beds filled with blooms of every color.

What I liked about the first perennial bed that I first saw was its curved edge, brightly colored wall in the back and the colorful tiles, which highlighted the flower colors.

A single purple-flowering, Chihuahuan sage(Leucophyllum laevigatum) anchored the corner of the bed with its height. The purple flowers provided great color contrast with the blanket flower, coneflower, salvias and yarrow.

Coral Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii ‘Coral)

Some of my favorite hummingbird plants were growing in the garden. Salvias are quite frankly, hummingbird magnets and grow beautifully in arid climates.

Salvia microphylla ‘Lipstick’

While most Salvia species grow well in full sun – if you live in the low-desert, they will do best when planted in filtered shade.

Salvia greggii ‘Purple’

When deciding what types of plants to add to your garden that will attract hummingbirds – salvias are a sure thing.

The deck was paved with flagstone and had two separate planting beds. Even though each planting area wasn’t large, the plant palette was not limited since there are many perennials that don’t grow overly large, so the homeowners were able to fit in a lot of colorful plants in the confined spaces.

In the second perennial bed, two different colored hummingbird mint (Agastache spp.) plants provide height and anchor each end of the bed. The sunny colors of blanket flower fill the middle.

Again, a brightly-colored wall adds to the beauty of this area.

The flowers of hummingbird mint (also known as hyssop) are simply irresistible to hummingbirds.

Besides producing pretty flowers and attracting hummingbirds, these perennials are drought tolerant, love hot/dry spaces, can be grown in zones 5-10 and are deer and rabbit resistant. They bloom summer to fall.

Blanket flower (Gaillardia spp.) come in a multitude of warm colors with shades or red, yellow and orange.

This colorful plant thrives in sunny spaces and attracts butterflies.

You’ll find this perennial growing in a wide range of gardens from zones 3 – 10.

The homeowners made the most out of their small garden space by creating a painted ‘garden’ along a previously blank wall.

Hummingbirds weren’t bothered by us and they hovered by the hummingbird mint and salvia flowers enjoying a drink of nectar.

This special garden is a wonderful example of how a garden limited on space can be used to create a lovely hummingbird paradise.

**For more information on plants that will attract hummingbirds to your Southwest garden, I recommend Hummingbird Plants of the Southwest.

*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for your support in this way.*

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Creating a Hummingbird Container Garden

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Wild About Penstemons

Gifts for the Gardener: Books for Water Wise Gardening

A Welcome Gift From an Agave and a Friend

September Gardening Tasks: What To Do and NOT Do

10 Beautiful, Native Trees for the Southwest

10 Vines for Southwestern Landscapes

Stomach Flu and Spring Flowers

Purple Blooms for the Fall Garden

Fall Blooms for the Southwest Garden

Small Space Garden: Hummingbird Paradise

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