A few weeks ago, I was asked by one of my editors to come up with a list of the top 10 plants that every resident of the Southwest should consider adding to their landscape.

I must admit that the task was a bit daunting at first – not because I couldn’t think of enough plants.  The problem was that my list was much larger.

I had to pare my list down and decided to focus on plants that would grow in zones 7 – 10, which cover much of the desert Southwest.  In addition, they had to be low-maintenance, native, beautiful and easy to grow.

Southwestern Landscape

After considering all of the criteria, I still had about 20 plants.  So, I added one other criteria of my own – how easy is it to find at your local nursery?  

At the end, I had 10 plants that I was very happy with – but I could have easily added a lot more 😉  

I hope you enjoy reading through this list of 10 essential plants for the desert Southwest.    

*I’d love to hear what plants you would include in your list of 10 favorites.  

10 Top Plants Native to the Desert Southwest

Tour of Sustainable Southwestern Landscape: Part 1