At one time, a desert gardener had a very limited number of plants to choose from. Not so now. Because of the burgeoning popularity of desert gardening, and water-wise gardening, a large variety of low-water-use plants from around the world have become readily available at nurseries.
These plants are colorful and many of them fragrant as well. While you may use many of your old favorites in your oasis garden (see Designing Desert Gardens), you now have great choices for the transitional zone and arid zones of your garden.
Here are some plants that are perfect for the transition zones of your desert garden:
Low Water Use Plants
Deciduous
- Western Catalpa
- Native Chokecherry
- Gambel Oak
- Flowering Locust varieties
- New Mexico Locust
- Littleleaf Linden
Conifer
- Rocky Mountain Juniper
- Bristlecone Pine
- Bosnian Pine
- Limber Pine
- Austrian Black Pine
- Southwest White Pine
- Scotch Pine
Shrubs
- Utah Serviceberry
- Pygmy Peashrub
- Siberian Peashrub
- Bluemist Spirea
- Chinese Juniper
- Littleleaf Mockorange
- Mugo Pine varieties
- Water Ash
- Shrub Live Oak
- Rocky Mountain sumac
- Austrian Copper Rose
- Woods' Rose
- Silver Buffaloberry
- Common Lilac and hybrids
- Chinese Lilac
Perennials
- Silvery Yarrow
- Tall Yarrow
- Moonshine Yarrow
- Double bubblemint
- Perennial Hollyhock
- Pasque Flower
- Silver anthemis
- Porter's Aster
- Chocolate flower
- Bearded Iris
- Lavender varieties
- Poppy Mallow
- Perennial bachelor's button
- Tickseed
- Threadleaf Coreopsis
- Blanket Flower
- Sunrose
- Coral Bells
- Candytuft
- Sea Lavender
- Blue flax
Here is a short list of plants that need no supplemental water after they are established.
Trees
- Arizona Cypress
- One-seed Juniper
- Utah Juniper
- Pinyon Pine
Shrubs
- Black Sage
- Sand Sagebrush
- Big Sagebrush
- Four-wing saltbush
- True Mountain Mahogany
- Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany
- Littleleaf Mountain mahogany
- Fernbush
- Chamisa
- Mexican Cliffrose
- Winterfat
- Apache Plume
- Rock Spirea
- Antelope Bitterbush
- Threeleaf Sumac
- Wax Currant
- Roundleaf buffaloberry
- Soapweed
- Datil Yucca
Perennials
- Sundrops
- Red Valerian
- Maximillian's Sunflower
- Perky Sue
- Dotted Gayfeather
- Prairie Coneflower
- Gray Santolina
- Partridge feather
- Western Spiderwort
- Prairie Zinnia
Bulbs
- Flowering Onions
- Crocus
- Snowdrop
- Grape Hyacinths
- Narcissus and daffodils
- Species tulips
A great many of these plants have long blooming seasons. Many have beautiful foliage. And still others have interesting autumn colors. Additionally, there are plants which provide great beauty in winter with their seed stalks, fruit and winter colors.
There is a great CD just produced by High Country Gardens that not only teaches some basic principles on desert gardening, but also offers photos and names of some fantastic plants that are perfectly adaptable to arid and transitional zones. Many of these plants are sub-varieties that have been developed by High Country Gardens. Cost of the CD is $14.95.
The Xeriscape Flower Gardener, a Waterwise Guide for the Rocky Mountain Region, by well-known xeriscape proponent Jim Knopf and published by Johnson Books is a fairly good resource as well.
A third book I have found is Native Plants for High Elevation Western Gardens by Janice Busco and Nancy Morin. Published in partnership with the Arboretum at Flagstaff, this book has some great plants, both native and introduced, that do well in desert gardens.
There are a number of other books also dedicated to desert gardens, which you may want to research.
