What comes to mind when you think of desert landscapes? Do you imagine bright beautiful flowers, ancient forests or stunning fall foliage? No? Well, you aren’t alone.
Fear not, however, as the Sonoran Desert is home to some truly beautiful native foliage that will not only look great in your front yard, but will also create a sustainable and wildlife friendly habitat for all kinds of creatures. Here’s a list of four desert flowers, shrubs and trees that are native to the Valley of the Sun:
Palo Verde
First up on the list is the Palo Verde. This beautiful flowering tree comes in two varieties: The blue palo verde and the foothills palo verde. The blue variety is generally bigger and more “tree” like while the foothills variety is a bit smaller and more closely resembles a shrub, though both varieties can grow quite large.
In the springtime, the palo verde can be seen covered in beautiful yellow flowers that attract many different pollinators. Birds also enjoy the palo verde and are often seen nesting in the branches and eating the seeds.
If you’d like a low maintenance, drought resistant and beautiful native plant, the palo verde is a great choice.
Desert Milkweed
Desert milkweed is a Sonoran desert native flowering plant with long blue-green leafless stems topped with a crown of white flowers.
Like most desert plants, this milkweed species is drought resistant and thrives in heat and sun. The flowers are frequented by pollinators including bees, moths and butterflies. Milkweed is also extremely important to the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly, as it is the only food supply for monarch caterpillars.
Milkweed is yet another beautiful desert plant that will attract numerous pollinators to your yard, and it is a welcome addition to any native landscape.
Golden Dyssodia
This desert native works well as a ground cover and provides beautiful accents in any valley landscape.
During the blooming season, the plant is covered with bright yellow daisy like flowers that attract butterflies and other pollinating insects. The is also used as a food source for many moth and butterfly larvae.
Golden dyssodia does well in full or part sun and will spread quickly if allowed to seed.
Coral Vine
This hardy climbing plant, also known as Mexican creeper, is a voracious vine native to Mexico. Once established, coral vine will grow rapidly (up to 10 feet in a single season). If allowed to climb a trellis, coral vine will grow thick enough to provide shade.
Coral vine sports large heart shaped leaves and bright pink or white flowers that grow in clusters.
A word of caution should you choose to grow this tenacious creeper: it spreads quickly via underground tubers and its seeds are dispersed throughout a space very quickly. Be careful not to let it get out of control!
Conclusion
Growing native plants in your yard is not only a sustainable practice (especially in the low desert of Arizona) it also helps to boost the local wildlife population.
The Phoenix metro area is expanding rapidly and taking with it the beautiful native landscape. By creating a little slice of the sonoran desert in your backyard, you can do your part to help restore the natural balance!
Are you growing any native plants in your yard? I’d love to hear about them! Share your experiences in the comments below!
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