A Stroll Through a Flowering Winter’s Garden

Agave, Arizona garden, AZ Plant Lady Classes, Cactus/Succulents, California desert garden, Containers, desert gardening, Hummingbird Gardening, Las Vegas gardening, Perennial, Shrubs, Southwest garden, Vines

Embracing the Beauty of a Winter Garden

Cultivating Year-Round Blooms in the Desert

Winter Garden Wonders: Did you know that you can have plants blooming in your landscape every month of the year? In the desert garden, this is definitely true!

One of the most popular programs that I teach at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is ‘Flowering All Year’. During the presentation, I teach students how to incorporate plants in their gardens so they can enjoy colorful blooms all year long.

A Winter Wonderland of Desert Blooms

Sadly, many desert dwellers miss this opportunity. Drive down a typical neighborhood street in winter, and you will have a hard time finding plants in bloom except for colorful annual flowers. As you’ll note, the focus in our gardens is typically on plants that flower through the warm season.

So, how can we change that? It’s quite simple – add plants that will flower in winter. Believe it or not, there are quite a few plants that fit the bill.

I invite you to come along with me on a virtual tour of the plants I showed to the students in the class as we walked through the winter garden in mid-February.

*Before we embark on our walk, I have a confession to make. Usually, I arrive early before my classes to see what’s in bloom so I can plan our route. But, my daughter’s bus arrived late that morning, so I was running a bit late. As a result, I didn’t know what we would see. Thankfully, there was plenty to see.

Purple Lilac Vine (Hardenbergia violaceae)

Plants for Cool-Season Winter Garden Color

Let’s start by discovering some of the remarkable plants that grace the winter garden with their presence:

1. Purple Lilac Vine (Hardenbergia violaceae)

The vibrant, blooms of purple lilac vine never disappoint. Blooms appear in mid-winter, adding a welcome relief to colorless winter landscapes. Here it is planted in a tall raised bed and allowed to trail downward. In my garden, it grows up against a wall with a trellis for support.

Whale’s Tongue Agave and Mexican Honeysuckle underneath an Ironwood tree

2. Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera)

Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera)

Several perennials and small shrubs do best in the desert garden when planted in filtered sunlight. Desert trees like ironwood, mesquite, and palo verde are excellent choices for producing filtered sunlight. Mexican honeysuckle doesn’t do well in full sun. As a result, it thrives under the shade of this ironwood tree. I love the texture contrast in this bed next to the whale’s tongue agave in this winter garden.

3. Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata) and Weber’s Agave (Agave weberi)

Weber’s Agave (Agave weberi) and Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)

Desert marigold is a short-lived perennial that resembles a wildflower. Yellow flowers appear throughout the year on this short-lived perennial. I like to use them in wildflower gardens or natural desert landscapes because this yellow bloomer will self-seed.

4. Firesticks (Euphorbia ‘Sticks on Fire’) and Elephants Food (Portulacaria afra)

Firesticks (Euphorbia ‘Sticks on Fire’) and Elephants Food (Portulacaria afra)

Shrubs, vines, and perennials aren’t the only plants that add winter color in the landscape. Colorful stems of the succulent ‘Firesticks’ add a splash of orange all year. I am a fan of the use of blue pots in the garden, and here, it adds a powerful color contrast with the orange.

5. ‘Winter Blaze’ (Eremophila glabra)

‘Winter Blaze’ (Eremophila glabra)

Lush green foliage decorated with orange/red blooms is on display all year long with this Australian native. Several types of Eremophilas add cool-season color to the landscape, and this one deserves more attention. There must be a blank space in my garden for one…

6. Winter Garden Delight – ‘Blue Bells’ (Eremophila hygrophana)

Blue Bells Eremophila and Mexican Fence Post Cactus

‘Blue Bells’ (Eremophila hygrophana)

Without a doubt, ‘Blue Bells’ is arguably one of my most favorite plants. It resembles a compact Texas sage (Leucophyllum spp.) but doesn’t grow as large AND blooms throughout the year. For best results, plant in full sun, but well-drained soil is a must.

7. Valentine Bush (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’)

Valentine Bush (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’)

My favorite choice for winter color is Valentine bush. Red/fuschia blooms begin to appear in January and last into April. For maximum color impact, use them in groups of 3 – 5. They are low maintenance – prune back to 1/2 their size in mid-April after flowering. No other pruning is required.

8. Aloe ferox

Aloe ferox

Winter into spring is a busy time for aloes, and many species do well in the desert garden. Most require filtered sunlight to do their best, but ‘Blue Elf’ aloe does well in both full sun and bright shade.

9. Trailing Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Trailing Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

10. Shrubby Germander (Teucrium fruiticans ‘Azurea’)

People from colder climates are often surprised to note that rosemary flowers. In the desert, we are fortunate that we get to enjoy their blue flowers from winter through spring – the bees like them too!

Shrubby Germander (Teucrium fruiticans ‘Azurea’)

Toward the entrance to the garden, I was delighted to see shrubby germander. A star in my own garden, this shrub has flowered all winter long and will continue to do so into spring. The blooms are a lovely periwinkle color.

11. Chuparosa (Justicia californica)

Chuparosa (Justicia californica)

As our walk was wrapping up, the bright red blooms of a chuparosa shrub caught our eye. A hummingbird was busily drinking as much nectar as he could. I like to use this shrub in winter garden landscapes with a natural theme as it has a sprawling growth habit. It flowers through winter into spring and an important nectar source for hummingbirds.

Beyond Blooms: Adding Artistic Flair to the Winter Garden

Of course, blooming plants aren’t the only way to add color to the garden. Garden art can play a vital part in adding interest. The Desert Botanical Garden is host to a traveling art exhibit with various animals made from recycled plastic. This group of meerkats greets visitors to the garden.

I hope that you enjoy this virtual tour of winter garden color in the garden and will add some to your own.

What plants do you have that flower in winter?

Drive By Landscapes: Winter Beauty in the Southwest Garden

A Well-Designed, Natural Landscape in an Unusual Place

Arizona garden, Landscape Design, Southwest garden, Sustainable Landscape

Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness: A Well-Designed Natural Landscape

Have you noticed that landscapes around parking lots and shopping malls look somewhat lackluster? This is often due to a combination of over-pruning, over-planting, and the wrong plant in the wrong place.

Sadly, this is so commonplace. A beautifully designed and well-maintained landscape stands out as a shiny diamond.

A Pleasant Surprise: Native Plants and Natural Shapes

My husband and I went to our local outlet mall to buy some clothes for him. I hadn’t walked more than a couple of steps when I realized that something was wrong. Well… actually right! The parking lot islands have shrubs that are spaciously planted and not pruned into round balls and cupcake shapes.

Native plants looking very nice in a Well-Designed, Natural Landscape in an Unusual Place

Most of the plants were native plants. The landscape grows together attractively and in natural shapes. This begs the question, who created a rule that plants can’t touch each other?

Colorful Desert Shrubs and Perennials

Shrubs such as Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica), turpentine bush (Ericameria laricifolia), and chuparosa (Justicia californica) stood out. The shrubs are combined with ornamental grasses like pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris).

I confess I didn’t make a very helpful shopping companion for my husband. The attractive landscaping constantly distracts me, causing me to stop frequently to take pictures.

A Shopper’s Paradise: Discovering Yellow Orchid Vines

My favorite area was where a fabulous yellow orchid vine (Callaeum macropterum) was growing up a large wall.

Because of the wall’s large scale, people have planted at least three vines together. Yellow orchid vine deserves more frequent use in landscaping but is seldom observed.

Yellow vines in the Well-Designed, Natural Landscape

I find that it does best in morning sun or filtered shade and regular water. Its yellow flowers are lovely and form a papery seed pod that resembles a butterfly. You can learn more about this vine here. This isn’t a common vine that you’ll find at the nursery. But you can usually find them at botanical garden plant sales or your local nursery may be able to order one for you.

Explore Natural Landscaping in Phoenix Premium Outlets

If you live in the greater Phoenix area, and want to see some great examples of desert natives and natural landscaping. Definitely plan a visit to the Phoenix Premium Outlets in Chandler. And who knows? You may even find some great deals at your favorite outlet stores.

From Grass to a ‘Natural’ Desert Landscape

December Happenings: Ballet, Sideways Agave, Pumpkins, and Snickerdoodles

Agave, AZ Plant Lady, az plant lady family, Cactus/Succulents, Shrubs

Celebrating the Holiday Season and Family Traditions

A Journey through Downtown and a Special Ballet Performance

The holiday season is a cherished time, characterized by a delicate balance between the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations and the moments of quiet reflection that are unique to this special time of year. In this regard, I’m delighted to share that this year has brought an unusual sense of accomplishment – I’ve already completed my gift shopping, with every carefully chosen present now meticulously wrapped and arranged under the Christmas tree. Additionally, gifts bound for distant loved ones are on their way, ensuring they will arrive in time to spread the holiday cheer.

Seasonal Joys and Garden Delights

This early completion of the gift list is a first for me, and while it’s a welcome relief, it also carries a touch of disconcertment. It’s as though I’ve checked off everything on my to-do list so swiftly that I’m left with a nagging feeling that I may have overlooked something vital in the midst of this newfound efficiency.

A Magical Outing to The Nutcracker

Last weekend, my mother treated us to an outing to The Nutcracker, by Ballet Arizona and the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra.

We arrived a bit early, which gave us the perfect excuse to walk through the downtown area. Years ago, I worked in a tall office building as a landscape designer, but it had been a long time since I had spent any time there.

Exploring Downtown Phoenix

I was delighted to discover a tall Christmas tree in the center of an ice-skating rink – yes, there is ice-skating in downtown Phoenix.

Walking further on, we saw a unique use of umbrellas as art.

My younger daughters couldn’t figure out why the umbrellas were hanging upside down, but I quite liked the artistic effect.

A row of yellow bell shrubs (Tecoma stans stans) added a welcome splash of lush green and yellow color. While you’ll see them grown as a shrub, here they are pruned into small trees. Underneath is the groundcover yellow dot (Wedelia trilobata).

A Theatrical Delight in Phoenix

inside the Phoenix Symphony Hall at Christmas

Once inside the Phoenix Symphony Hall, we admired the colorful Christmas trees. It was all quite festive, and my daughters were excited to watch their first ballet performance.

My mother and daughter, Gracie.

Although Gracie has autism, and many things cause her acute anxiety, she was doing very well as she had always wanted to see The Nutcracker.

My sister-in-law, daughters, and me!

Family and Ballet Holiday Season Fun

There is one thing about the performance that I haven’t mentioned yet. My cousin’s daughter is one of the dancers in this ballet. She is a ‘snowflake’ in Act 1, and a ‘wildflower’ in Act 2.

This is all I can show you of the stage as photos of the performance aren’t allowed.

It was marvelous, and everyone enjoyed themselves. After the performance, we met my cousin’s daughter at the stage door, (Gracie hoped that she would still have her costume on). She was so happy that we had come to see her performance and I was struck by the fact that all the dancing genes in the family went to her (as well as her mother) – I certainly didn’t get any 😉

Wall Garden Discoveries

chuparosa (Justicia californica), octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana), and yucca

On our way back to the car, we passed by a striking vertical garden, filled with chuparosa (Justicia californica), octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana), and yucca. Even though the chuparosa was a bit too overgrown, the overall effect was lovely.

Garden Visitors and Holiday Season Baking

Back home, things are rather quiet in the garden, with one exception:

Garden bird friends eating from a pumpkin

My Halloween pumpkins that I filled with birdseed are still creating quite a buzz with the neighborhood birds. We have had Alber’s towhees, curved bill thrashers, finches, Inca doves, and sparrows come for a visit. It’s been a real treat watching them out the kitchen window. The pumpkins will probably have to be thrown out in another week, but it’s been nice to find a way to reuse them.

The Best Snickerdoodle Recipe Ever

Lastly, we’ve been busy baking cookies for upcoming holiday events as well as to give to friends and neighbors. Snickerdoodles are by far our favorite, and they are so easy to make with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

The recipe I use is an old one. I received it at my wedding shower, back in 1986, from a college friend. It has never failed me and cookies are delicious. I’ve had many requests to share it, so here it is:

*Please feel free to print it out and start your own annual Snickerdoodle cookie tradition.

December In The Garden….Sit Back And Relax

10 Shrubs for Full Sun and Reflected Heat

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

10 Drought-Tolerant Shrubs That Thrive in Full Sun and Reflected Heat in the Southwest

One of the most challenging situations in landscaping involves cultivating plants in areas exposed to both full sun and the unforgiving embrace of reflected heat. Reflected heat is the result of surfaces like sidewalks, walls, and patio decks absorbing daytime warmth only to radiate it back out later.

It’s easy to understand that the combination of intense sunlight and reflected heat can make it a daunting task to find plants that not only survive but also enhance these areas with their beauty.

Fortunately, there’s a selection of attractive plants ready to thrive in these sun-soaked and heat-kissed spaces.

flowering_pink_fairy_duster_Calliandra_eriophylla

1. Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla)

Native to the desert Southwest and northern Mexico, Pink Fairy Duster boasts airy foliage that transforms in spring with pink, feather duster-like flowers. These blossoms not only please the eye but also attract hummingbirds. While it can survive on natural rainfall, deep watering once a month in spring and fall and twice a month in summer enhances its appearance and flower production.

2. Feathery Cassia (Senna artemisioides, formerly Cassia artemisioides)

Hailing from the arid regions of Australia, Feathery Cassia presents fragrant yellow flowers against finely textured gray-green leaves in late winter and early spring. Its foliage adds a gentle green contrast to the landscape when not in bloom. The plant’s resilience to reflected sun and light shade makes it a versatile choice.

3. Beloperone (Justicia californica)

A native of the Sonoran Desert, Beloperone or Chuparosa, graces your landscape with red trumpet-shaped flowers in winter. Its bright green heart-shaped foliage offers a visually refreshing element to your garden, although it may be absent during drought periods. Beloperone is a favorite of hummingbirds, providing them with nectar during lean blooming times.

4. Little-Leaf Cordia (Cordia parvifolia)

Native to the Mexican desert regions, including Baja, Chihuahua, and Sonora, Little-Leaf Cordia offers papery white flowers that complement other colors in your landscape. Despite its delicate appearance, this shrub is robust and can withstand heat, sun, and drought, making it an excellent choice for low-maintenance gardens.

5. Texas Ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens)

Commonly known as the barometer bush, Texas Ranger bursts into purple blooms during periods of increased humidity following rain. Its gray foliage, covered with tiny hairs, reflects sunlight and has a velvety texture. Texas Ranger’s beauty shines when it’s allowed to grow naturally rather than being pruned into formal shapes.

Jojoba green plant with fruits on a farm

6. Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)

Jojoba, native to desert regions in Arizona, California, Baja, and Sonora, stands out for its evergreen foliage. The leaves are covered in a waxy coating that helps it withstand heat and reflected sunlight. Its vertically arranged leaves protect it from direct sun exposure, making it a hardy and versatile choice.

7. Yellow Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii)

Native to South America, primarily Argentina and Uruguay, Yellow Bird-of-Paradise offers finely textured foliage and large yellow flowers with red stamens, adding color to sunny garden areas. It thrives in hot temperatures and can withstand both extreme heat and occasional frost.

8. Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.)

Bougainvillea graces your garden with vibrant colors during spring, with bracts surrounding tiny cream flowers. Its lush green foliage conceals thorns and thrives in areas with full sun and reflected heat. Proper irrigation includes deep watering followed by drying out before the next watering. These shrubs do great in containers as well.

9. ‘New Gold’ Lantana (Lantana ‘New Gold’)

Butterflies are attracted to ‘New Gold’ Lantana’s golden yellow flowers, covering bright green foliage from spring through fall. With its low growth habit, this shrub adds color to your garden’s lower sections. While typically grown in zones 9 to 11, it can survive winters down to Zone 8.

10. Natal Plum (Carissa macrocarpa)

With dark green leaves, Natal Plum offers an alternative to boxwood in intensely sunny locations. It produces white star-shaped flowers with a jasmine and orange blossom fragrance in spring. This South African native comes in various sizes, making it suitable for different sunny areas. Note that the sap of Natal Plum can irritate the skin, and the plant has thorns.

The above 10 shrubs are fantastic examples of plants that can handle full sun as well as reflected warmth. All the shrubs need consistent irrigation, but strong drainage.

Do you have a plant that you like that does well in full, reflected sun?

**For additional shrub suggestions, I recommend Mary Irish’s book, Trees and Shrubs for the Southwest.

A Dime Store Magnifying Glass and a Whole Miniature World at Your Doorstep

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Fuss-Free Plant: Chuparosa

Fuss Free Plant, Uncategorized

Do you enjoy going out into the garden in summer?

I don’t!

I admit to sometimes neglecting my garden when the temperatures go above the century mark. My aversion to gardening in a furnace is one of the reasons that I like to use desert-adapted plants that don’t need much attention.

One of my favorite fuss-free plants is chuparosa (Justicia californica).

It has beautiful red, tubular flowers that decorate the garden in late winter into spring and sporadically throughout the year. Hummingbirds can’t resist it AND it is drought-tolerant and low-maintenance.

Want to learn more? Here is my latest plant profile for Houzz:

Great Design Plant: Chuparosa Brightens Casual Desert Gardens

Looking for Inspiration: Low-Maintenance Desert Landscapes

desert gardening, Landscape Design, Uncategorized

I have been dreaming of converting our backyard into a beautiful, low-maintenance desert landscape.

Right now, it has a large area of grass surrounded by large, flowering shrubs against the wall. I would have loved to have taken out the grass years ago, but my husband and son protested since they would throw the football back and forth each evening before dinner.

low-maintenance desert landscape

But, now my son is almost 12 and often throws the football over the wall, so now I have been give permission to at least start thinking of converting the backyard.

Often, on my way home from a landscape consult, I will mentally design my new backyard garden. I have some concrete ideas, but there is still a lot to be decided.

Whenever I see a landscape area that I like, I stop to take a picture. I have quite a few pictures that I have taken of landscapes that inspire me.

Here are just a few…

Red flowering Chuparosa, growing underneath native mesquite and foothills palo verde trees. A hedgehog cactus grows by a large boulder. Mexican bird-of-paradise, trained as trees are growing in the background.

Goodding’s verbena, chuparosa and brittlebush blooming with creosote bush in the background.

Desert ruellia provides an attractive background for golden barrel cacti. This area needs to be pruned once every 2 years.

Young palo verde tree with potted artichoke agave.

I am still in the “designing inside my mind” stage, but will soon need to put things down on paper. I have my drafting supplies ready to go once I am.

Of course, the entire project hinges on having enough money for large containers, big boulders, trees, plants, dirt for mounds and paying someone to rip out our grass.

I would hope to be able to do this next winter, but we will see…

Which one of the landscape areas above do you like best?

From Grass to a ‘Natural’ Desert Landscape

azplantlady, Uncategorized

Have you ever taken out an area of grass and added plants in its place?

I have – numerous times.

My past was filled with grass – acres and acres of it, when I worked as a horticulturist for golf courses. Nothing made me happier then when areas of grass were being removed and I was able to design a new landscape area.

It’s been 8 years since I worked as a staff horticulturist for golf courses, but the past few weeks have found me spending a lot of time back on the golf course.

Earlier this week, I told you about my most recent project – creating landscape designs for up to 30 acres of former grass area. Two golf courses, that I have worked with in the past, are removing large areas of turf in favor of a more natural, desert-scape.

The plants that I have chosen are extremely drought-tolerant, need very little maintenance and are native to the deserts of North America.

Another important criteria for my choices of plants was that I have to had experience growing them myself, either in my own garden or professionally in landscape areas that I have managed.

Here are the plants that I am using in this first area:

Desert Ruellia (Ruellia peninsularis)

Desert Ruellia is a favorite shrub of mine. It is incredibly drought-tolerant. I like to use it as a smaller substitute for Texas sage.

In this first landscape area, I wanted a shrub that could survive with intermittent deep-watering, limited maintenance while still looking attractive. The purple flowers that appear spring through fall will add color to the area.

Chuparosa (Justicia californica)

This flowering native, will find a place underneath the filtered shade of the large mesquite tree already present.

Chuparosa explodes with color off an on throughout the year, attracting every hummingbird in the neighborhood. It does well in full sun or filtered shade.

Desert Spoon (Dasylirion wheeler)

Succulents are a vital part of the plant palette for all of these new areas. Their unique colors and shapes add texture to the landscape and contrast well with the more softly-shaped plants.

Desert spoon will be interspersed throughout this first area where its gray color will contrast with the darker greens of the shrubs.

Santa-Rita Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita)

Santa-rita purple prickly pear is also high on my list of favorites. You just can’t beat the purple coloring that appears toward the tips of gray/blue pads.

Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)

Often grown as a annual, Desert Marigold is a short-lived perennial that flowers throughout the year.

Cold and lack of water don’t bother these tough little perennials. They require little to no maintenance – but I cut them back severely to 3 inches once a year to improve their appearance and promote more flowering, although you don’t have too.

Whether you or not you are a fan of yellow – it is an important color to include in the garden because the color yellow helps the other colors in the landscape to ‘pop’ and stand out more vividly.

Although short-lived, desert marigold self-seeds, ensuring that they remain a presence wherever they are planted.

Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatoni)

If you are a fan of penstemons, this is one to consider adding to your list. Firecracker penstemon has a long bloom period in the low-desert. It starts blooming in late December and continues into spring.

You can often prolong the bloom period by removing spent flowering stalks, which will promote a second flush of bloom. I have several of these growing in my own garden – some are 15 years old and still going strong – although that is uncommon.

Bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea)

I’ll be the first one to admit that this low-growing shrub is not exciting – one may even call it ‘boring’.

But, bursage is seen carpeting the ground throughout the Arizona portion of the Sonoran desert. Its gray/green foliage serves as an understory plant that helps to tie the separate elements of this ‘natural landscape’ together.

Example of bursage use in a natural desert landscape planting.

The key to keeping bursage attractive is to prune it back severely to 6″ tall and wide every 2 – 3 years in early spring.

So, this is the plant palette for the first of many ‘natural desert landscape areas’. I do have a few more plants that I will show you as I create designs for the other areas on the golf courses.

Do you grow any of these plants in your garden?

Enjoying the Sun…..No Sunscreen Required

AZ Plant Lady

Now, the title of this post does NOT apply to me. My ancestors hail from Northern Europe and so whenever a sunny day beckons me outdoors, you will find me with my hat and my sunscreen.

What this title does refer to are plants that not only thrive in our full desert sun, but those that can even thrive in areas with hot, reflected heat. Just picture a brick wall, facing west, getting the full force of the sun in the afternoon. Believe it or not, there are quite a few plants that do quite well in the summer sun and seem to be saying “Bring it On”.

Full desert sun

Most people either hate or love Bougainvillea. If you have a pool – do NOT use this plant as they can be quite messy. That being said, I do love Bougainvillea and have two planted along the back wall that receives afternoon sun. They do extremely well and actually flower more when in full sun.

For those who prefer using native plants, Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) provides beautiful yellow flowers in the winter and spring. Their gray leaves provide a great color contrast to your other plants throughout the year, even when not in flower.

Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens), a native from our neighboring Chihuahuan Desert, is a favorite of mine to use in hot, sunny areas. There are quite a few different Leucophyllum species that come in a variety of leaf colors and offer flowers in shades of purple, pink and white. They can grow up to 6 ft. high and are great for covering up a large expanse of a brick wall.

Red Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica) is a wonderful plant to use in sunny locations. Red flowers are produced year-round, although the heaviest bloom occurs in the spring and fall months. They are a great favorite of hummingbirds.

Cassia species are a wonderful export to us from Australia. There are four different species that are commonly found in our area, but my two favorites are Silvery Senna (Senna phyllodenia) and Desert Senna (Senna artemisioides sturtii). Beautiful flowers appear in winter and last through spring.

It is no surprise to those who have read my blog for any length of time that I would add Globe Mallow Sphaeralcea ambigua) to my list of sun-loving plants. The shrub above, is located in my front garden and I will soon be planting some seeds along the wall in my back garden, which faces west and receives full sun all afternoon.

Whether you prefer the green or purple leafed Hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa), both types will grow upright and produce an evergreen shrub that will thrive in the sun.

Many succulent plants do well in areas with hot, reflected heat. But a word of caution – just because a plant is a succulent (stores water in it’s leaves), does NOT mean that it can handle full sun. However, Soaptree Yucca (Yucca elata) does very well in the hot sun.

This is one of my favorite succulent plants. Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) is actually not a yucca at all. But it’s succulent leaves make it look like an ornamental grass. In spring and summer red flowers start to bloom.

Chuparosa (Justicia californica) can be seen along the roadsides throughout the desert. They are decorated with orange/red tubular flowers that hummingbirds just love. If they can thrive out in the open desert, they can do very well in your garden.

I hope this list is helpful to those of you who have an area that receives hot, reflected heat that desperately needs a plant. By adding a plant to areas such as these – actually help to cool that area down because the plant actually absorbs the sun’s rays and keeps them from heating up the surrounding wall, rock, etc.

**Please stay away from planting plants such as Hibiscus, Roses, Citrus and Heavenly Bamboo in these areas. They do not do well in areas with hot, reflected heat. However, all of these plants will do very well in north, south and eastern exposures.

If you are reading a plant label at the nursery to see what type of exposure the plant requires, please keep the following in mind. Full sun in the desert is quite different from the full sun experienced in other areas of the country. For example, a Hibiscus shrub that is growing in San Diego, can handle full sun. However, the intensity of the sun coupled with the heat of desert, will make it difficult for a Hibiscus to handle being planted in a western exposure in Arizona.

And so in closing, I hope this list will prove helpful to you as you search for the right plant for that particular area in your garden.

Large Trees and Little Leaves…

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Tag Archive for: Chuparosa