Bring the Bajada to Your Yard

The Sonoran desert is beautiful and draws many people to the Phoenix area. Without our iconic desert, Phoenix is just like any other concrete parking lot but much, much hotter.

Luckily our desert trees provide shade without asking for much upkeep. Our desert flowers bloom effortlessly where other plants struggle. Drive out to the trails near the McDowell mountains in spring to enjoy the local ecosystem – the bajada- in full splendor.

The bajada is actually a very accessible way to plant a landscape. The plants require very little maintenance. They are already well-suited to our area. They are tolerant of our alkaline soil and our dry spells. They have the potential to spread out to new spaces in the yard and create free new shrubs. 

By consciously installing local plants we are doing out part to keep Scottsdale natural. We feed native bees and hummingbirds and other creatures who depend on the desert plants. We are allowing Scottsdale to retain a local character that sets Arizona apart from the other nearby deserts. 

Also, local growers take cues from demand and by planting native plants we are signalling that native Sonoran desert plants are worth keeping in stock. 

Bring the bajada Planting Campaign

The idea behind “Bring the Bajada” is to fix up existing landscapes using a blend of native plants. Many yards have empty spaces and underutilized areas of the garden. There are a dozen or two local plant species that can be used in various situations. Bringing the Bajada simply means considering these plants first when designing the landscape planting.

We can “bring the bajada” without giving up neatness or tidiness. Plants can still be trimmed and the brush can be cleared out. Also, the bajada’s plants can be combined with desert plants from other regions to add color during the summer and winter when Sonoran desert plants are more quiet. 

A quick list of bajada plants to add to the home landscape:

• Trees like palo verde, desert willow, ironwood
• Large shrubs like creosote, jojoba, hopseed bush, desert lavender, wolfberry
• Succulents like strawberry hedgehog cactus, fishhook barrel cactus, soaptree yucca, Hohokam agave, prickly pear cactus
• Wildflowers found for sale in nurseries like Parry’s penstemon, pink fairy duster, globe mallow, desert marigold, brittlebush, chuparosa, sandpaper verbena
• Wildflowers to grow from seed like lupine, poppy, AZ bluebells, scorpionweed, desert chia

Other highly compatible desert plants that aren’t from here specifically but do very well mixed with Sonoran plants:

• Plants from nearby deserts like Texas sages, yellow bells, claret cup cactus, angelita daisy, moss verbena, primroses, and many more
• Australian plants like blue emu bush, desert senna, blue hibiscus

I had to stop myself from adding more and more plants to this list! We have many lovely options for planting desert adapted, low water use plants in Phoenix. As a certified nursery professional and Smartscape landscape designer in the east valley, I’m available to help homeowners fix up and maintain their yards in a way that’s harmonious with the desert and easy on resources.

Please reach out if I can help make your garden more desert friendly.

P.S. I will never generate AI photos for my blog, and all of my posts are written by me Paige without the help of LLMs. Thank you for reading!