The desert is full of cheerful yellow color every spring due to the abundance of brittlebush, palo verde, and countless other daisies and ornamentals. These warm colors are great but they don’t fit every situation or garden, and sometimes we want contrast. These shrubs and annuals bloom during spring and potentially longer.
Arizona bluebells – Phacelia campanularia. I mention this flower a lot because I think it’s underutilized in Phoenix. It is a full sun spring annual with dark blue flowers that carpet the gravel for a couple of months every year. They die before summer and re-seed. The catch is they have to be started from seed, they’re not available in pots yet. You still have time to order a seed packet to start them this year.
Blue hibiscus – Alogyne huegelii. This is a large, slightly frost tender full sun shrub from australia. The flowers are large and look almost exactly like the tropical hibiscus flower except these are light blue or purple. This is an accent plant that demands admiration when in full bloom in spring, and off and on through the warm season. May not be a great choice for yards with a squirrel problem – one customer reported they ate the flower buds. In the right place this plant is a low maintenance stunner.
Autumn sage – Salvia greggii. This small desert shrub is becoming available in more and more colors, including deep purple. I like this plant a lot because the flowers look great up close, this plant attracts hummingbirds, it blooms consistently throughout the warm season, and I like how the leaves smell. It’s kind of an awkward size because it gets to be 3ft tall but it acts more like a perennial than anything else, remaining asymmetric and needing to be replaced in several years. I like to mix them in among other plants as a nice addition of color.
Scorpionweed – Phacelia crenulata/ other species. This annual can be found in spring near Tom’s Thumb in the Mcdowell mountains preserve. It’s a little purple plant that grows in protected spots next to boulders and under cacti and other plants. I planted it as part of a pollinator seed packet and scorpionweed was one of the most successful annuals, coming back year after year. Flowers are packed with pollen for local critters.
Purple lantana and ruellia (Lantana montevidensis and Ruellia brittoniana) – Classic Phoenix landscaping plants. I’m sure you’ve all seen a million of these. They are popular for a good reason though. Purple lantana is a good size for large or small gardens, pots, and big plantings. It blooms pretty much all year. And it responds very well to water, compost, and fertilizer, while tolerating drought better than most tropical plants. It can take truly full sun. And ruellia is a plant that loves to be drip irrigated and flood irrigated. It is a hardy plant that spreads to become a little hedge if you give it plenty of water. They definitely need more shade than the lantana but are still able to tolerate several hours of direct sun every day. I think these are used best in a grouping to conserve soil moisture and keep them slightly shaded.
Bush dalea – Dalea pulchra. One of my favorites; I planted one five years ago in a very difficult spot and it delights me every spring, though I haven’t seen one for sale in the east valley in years. I never stop looking out for this one. It’s a legume that enriches the soil around it. It withstands Full Day sun. It has cute delicate gray leaves and pretty flowers. It only gets to be a few feet tall and wide so it fits in a lot of situations. Has anyone seen this plant lately? Would love to know about it.
Planting season is here and I’m available for consultations and plantings. You can find more of my writing on Nextdoor and Facebook or check back here for more posts in the future.
Paige Maloney | Arizona Landscape Designer 