Bold Arid Landscape - Proven Beauty

Gardening Ideas

Southwest Landscape

southwest landscape

Bold Color For Arid Spaces

It’s hot and dry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a gorgeous landscape garden! This guide will help you select plant varieties that naturally thrive in hot, dry conditions.

Tips for Growing Plants in a Hot, Arid Climate

When temperatures soar above 100 degrees and the air lacks humidity to draw moisture from, even the toughest plants appreciate a little bit of help. Check out some ways you can make their lives easier!

Tip 1

Plant Selection

Select your plants carefully. Focus your plant palette on varieties that can handle dry heat and very high light levels like Ladybird^® Texas primroses and Austin Pretty Limits^® oleander.

Fun Fact

Many of these tough plants are also pollinator magnets! Incorporating them into your landscape will help support your local populations of butterflies, birds, and bees.

PLANT LIST

Click on any image in the slideshow to learn more about that variety

Tip 2

When to Plant

Even though these plants are tough, they are not invincible. Establishing them in cooler, wetter weather and keeping them watered plentifully for a while until they get established will give them the best head start. Established plants are more resilient in hot, dry weather than ones without developed root systems.

Tip 3

Help Roots Develop

In order to encourage deep rooting, break up any compacted soil when digging a planting hole and provide more prepared soil for rooting space than you would in wetter climates. Mixing in some amendments when planting will help the soil retain water and release it to plants when they need it. Be cautious when amending the soil. You don’t want to add too much, as these plants prefer it on the dry side and their roots can rot if the soil doesn’t drain well.

Tip 4

Go Big!

Consider using larger containers or raised beds which hold a greater volume of soil. More soil equates to increased water retention which will help your plants withstand the hot, dry weather better.

We opted to build planters instead of using traditional patio containers in order to provide the plants more soil in order to keep them happy and hydrated during the hottest months.

Landscape Makeover

See how this arid back yard space was transformed into a lush drought-tolerant landscape.

Carving Out a Tiered Landscape

When it came time to improve this property, we opted for a tiered landscape effect with multiple levels of plantings. We took advantage of a natural hillside by building a long zig-zagging retaining wall and backfilling the hillside with soil to create a large, deep, elevated planting area. Soaker hoses were installed to provide irrigation while getting plants established. We then poured a concrete slab below and laid down tile to create a patio space. Finally, we built raised bed planters to frame the patio space and add a second level of plantings to achieve a cool tiered effect. We opted to build planters instead of using traditional patio containers in order to provide the plants more soil in order to keep them happy and hydrated during the hottest months.

USEFUL LINKS

DROUGHT TOLERANT LANDSCAPE

Learn about flowers and plants that thrive in hot, dry environments.

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TAMING A SLOPE

Transform a hot, sunny slope into a gorgeous showcase of annuals, perennials, and shrubs.

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PLANTS FOR THE SOUTHWEST

Find tough and reliable flowers for landscapes with high light levels and sometimes blazing summer temperatures.

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