Types of Desert Landscaping Plants

Desert Landscaping Plants Are Easy to Grow

The folks in the Southwest part of our country get to enjoy the beauty and ease of gardening with desert landscaping plants. They need little water, are hardy and also easy to transplant. They come in many interesting types, some with beautiful blossoms and others with unique shapes.

The various varieties of the cacti, with their sharp thorns, have been used as a fence to ward off predatory animals and other uninvited guests. They can also be used to protect a vegetable from animals that enjoy stealing your prized tomatoes. The short and stout "Barrel Cactus" would be very uninviting.

While creating a look using desert landscaping plants, you might find that you have some areas of the property or perhaps a side of the home with lots of shade. Obviously, this would require you to use landscape shade plants, those that will handle the hot and dry climate but also do well growing in shade. Again, the possibilities are tremendous, giving you great coverage and beautiful blooms during the year.

Regarding some of the desert landscaping plants and landscape shade plants, we wanted to provide you with some excellent options that you might consider. Those listed below are just a few samples of the hundreds of possibilities.

Agave Americana: The interesting form and the plant's high tolerance to heat, drought, cold, sun, and even poor soils makes this an ideal all-around plant. The Agave Americana will grow anywhere from one to six feet tall, developing into unique styles of leafs and beautiful colors.

Opuntia phaecantha variety discata, This is a very hardy plant that can survive in cold weather and will produce a beautiful deep yellow flower in the spring and summer months. It does tend to crawl along the ground and root as it goes. It has very sharp long spines that can be dangerous if planted around children.

The Agave or "century plant," so named due to the flower stalk that is said to only bloom every one hundred years. In reality, the flower stalk appears at the end of its life, which can be as long as twenty to thirty five years. It has been used for ropes with the fiber, some for tequila, and baked and eaten.

Landscape Shade Plants for the Desert

Astilbes: These plants have wonderful, plume like flowers of red, pink, and white that will bloom for a long time. As a perennial, the flower will grow back year after year while growing perfectly in a shaded area.

Hostas are another shade variety that blends in well with desert landscaping plants. They are perennials that come in several types, some with solid green or variegated leaves. They produce flowers white, pink or purple flowers and can grow in full or partial shade.

Liriope Spicata: Another excellent shade plant, this one appears like grass, which is why it is more often referred to as border grass. The flowers are spiked in shape and while in bloom the color changes from white to purple then in the fall, a dark berry grows.

Often labeled a day lily the Foxglove is extremely versatile and grows equally as well in the sun as it does it the shade. The flowers produced by this plant are striking and vary in color depending on the species. It is however a poisonous plant and should not be exposed to children and pets.

Get more ideas on landscaping visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Outdoor Landscaping Ideas For The Novice

Landscaping the surrounding area of your home is not a lot different than other types of landscaping. People like their home to look as good as possible so the entire neighborhood will be envious. The great thing about home landscaping is it is not hard, and almost anyone can do it without out professional help. It will take some energy and spare time but doing it yourself can be enjoyable and rewarding.

There is a variety of landscape design software available to allow you experiment with different ideas. It is far better to plan ahead with sizes, shapes and styles of plants and patio materials.

The internet can also be utilized to find unusual or new outdoor landscaping ideas. There are tons of photos of completed projects, plans, plants and materials.

There are likely thousands of different landscaping ideas that you will find to be useful for your yard and well within your budget and there are a lot of sites that focus specifically on home landscaping. These sites will also give you some great ideas as well as practical information. It is important to do extensive research before you begin your project to minimize the mistakes so that the job will not have to be done over again.

For Any Budget

Even with a small budget you should still be able to find landscaping ideas to fit your yard and make it more beautiful. If you have a large budget you can do more, but even a limited budget will go a long way towards improving your yard. Projects like flower beds, paths and accent lighting will most likely be cheaper while projects like land contouring can get much more expensive.

Always have the utility company survey the area to be renovated. Relocating or repairing utility lines can be expensive and dangerous.

You should also check with the city regarding zoning and setback restrictions. Most cities will give you a set of guidelines to follow. Some cities also have restrictions on tree elevations and fencing so be careful and comply with all the requirements. Do you homework and find out all you can before you start your project and avoid any wasted time and unnecessary costs

Interviewing landscape architects and contractors and searching online can uncover never before thought of outdoor landscape ideas. They can be expensive, but planned and executed properly, they will yield long lasting and valuable results.