Trailing Indigo Bush is definitely one of the most successful groundcovers used in the Southwest. This low-growing, evergreen has the ability to form roots wherever its stems touch the ground, making it an excellent soil stabilizer, and enabling it to rapidly spread 6-8 feet or more while maintaining a mounding height of only 2 feet.…
Every landscape in the Southwest should have at least one of these heat and drought tolerant beauties! They seem to be made specifically for our arid climate, greeting the scorching desert heat with solid blankets of lavender flowers that butterflies and occasional hummingbirds find enticing. Purple Trailing Lantana is a fast grower that stays low…
Height: 3 – 4 feet Width: 3 – 4 feet Bloom color: Dark Purple Flowering season: Summer, Fall USDA minimum zone: 7 Cold hardiness: 10° F
A fairly new introduction to the long list of Bougainvillea varieties, ‘Torch Glow’ offers the same infamous drought and heat tolerance as other varieties without the need of a trellis for support. Multiple stems grow upright from the base of the plant, and leaves cling closely to the branches, giving this shrub an interesting, twisting…
Texas Olive is not a true Olive, and it doesn’t produce fruit that people find very palatable. Birds quite enjoy the flavor, however, while butterflies and hummingbirds are partial to nectar from its flowers, making Texas Olive a lively hub of garden activity nearly year-round. Large, dark green, leathery leaves are the perfect backdrop for…
Here in Arizona, grapes aren’t planted only for their tasty fruit! When given the support of an arbor, fence, or trellis, this fast growing, deciduous vine gives filtered shade through the summer while allowing extra light and warmth during winter. Its broad leaves soak up our high heat and bright sunlight with no complaints, softening…
There are many desert dwellers who will tell you that the most attractive tree you can grow here is the Texas Ebony. It features a twisted but picturesque canopy of dense dark-green foliage, and dons fragrant cream to yellow flower puffs in early summer and sometimes again in fall. Distinctive, thorny, zig-zagging branches create a…
Height: 5 – 12 feet Width: 3 – 10 feet Bloom color: White Flowering season: Spring, Summer, Fall USDA minimum zone: 8 Cold hardiness: 15° F
Finding an evergreen vine that will take our summer heat is hard enough, but finding one that also produces bunches of colorful, fragrant flowers is quite a find! Thankfully, we have this American native to furnish our arbors and trellises with year-round lustrous green color that is accented by purple hues in winter and clusters…