Spring wildflower season is one of the desert’s most colorful periods. But planning for those multicolored displays in the spring requires planning in the Fall. It’s prime time for fall planting! From late September through early December is the perfect time to sow spring seeds in the Arizona desert. Most spring-blooming wildflowers benefit from the cold temperatures of winter and …
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Calliandra, commonly known as Fairy Duster, refers to the beautiful stamens which make the tufted or ball-like flowers on these loosely branched shrubs. Their beautiful and vibrant colors range from pale pink to deep red. These small to medium-sized shrubs produce their flowers against a backdrop of finely divided, lacy-looking foliage. Fairy Dusters can be used in a wide variety …
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Indoor plants are all the rage right now, and we get why. Houseplants are a great way to bring nature indoors and caring for them can be therapeutic, too. For some urban dwellers, their plants even take on the role similar to domestic pets (have you named your plants?). They provide many benefits, but like outdoor plants, some require more …
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Texas Ebony is native to the lowland regions of the Gulf of Mexico from southern Texas to northeastern Mexico. The highly ornamental, glossy, dark green foliage is its most striking feature. This popular small to medium tree has flexible, zigzagged branches, and fragrant catkin-like spring flowers. The dense canopy is evergreen in lower desert regions. Texas Ebony, Ebenopsis ebano (formerly …
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Chihuahuan-Sage, Leucophyllum laevigatum is a low-maintenance evergreen shrub with a spiky, but loose form. The periodic masses of lavender flowers are not only fragrant but will attract hummingbirds, too. Description Medium green leaves are somewhat sparsely arranged, yet they cling tightly along the erect to spreading branches of Chihuahuan-sage. Individual leaves measure ½ inch long and ¼ inch wide at …
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Feeling like your yard is too small to plant for birds? Before you throw in the towel, give these petite garden favorites a try. Like goldfish, these plants will fill the space they are given and can be trimmed back easily if needed. Endorsed by gardeners and hummingbirds alike, these easy additions will add more life and interest to your …
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If you’re looking for delicate winter color in small spaces, consider shrubby bulbine. FIELD NOTES Once upon a time in the Groot Swartberg Mountains in South Africa, while photographing an intriguing bulb called Boophone disticha on a dry, rocky slope, we happened upon a lonely, flowering Bulbine frutescens. The species is native to dry areas throughout South Africa from near …
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Living in the desert southwest has many advantages, including being able to have a landscape filled with winter blooms all winter long when gardens throughout much of the country are brown or covered in a layer of snow. Over the weekend, I stepped out into my garden to see how my plants were doing and took photos of those that …
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Spring wildflower season is one of the desert’s most colorful periods. But planning for those multicolored displays in the spring requires planning in the Fall. The prime time to plant spring flowers in the low desert areas of southern Arizona is during late September through early December. Most spring-blooming wildflowers benefit from the cold temperatures of winter and begin their …
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If you want to attract butterflies to your yard, be sure to plant Mist Flower (Conoclinium dissectum, also sold as Eupatorium greggii). This flowering perennial can grow to a height of 1 ½ – 2 ½ feet and a width of 2-3 feet. Beautiful fuzzy lavender-blue, and blue-purple flowers adorn the plants in tight clusters at the ends of branches, …
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Some professional landscapers suggest homeowners design sections of their landscape as they would design each room in their home. This image helps homeowners give their yards dimension with layers of color and texture. Imagine vines as window coverings, group trees and shrubs as if they were furniture, and use groundcover plants as carpeting–a far better carpet than just having gravel. …
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Cereus cacti are nighttime showstoppers that are not shy about strutting their blooms. The two Cereus species highlighted, repandus and hildmannuamus, are so similar it’s challenging to differentiate between them. Like most cacti, this garden giant sits unassuming in the landscape, happy to take in full sun with minimal water. In late spring however, large white showy flowers will open …
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