How to Incorporate Arid Native Plants in Formal Garden Designs

When traditional formal shrubs won’t work in your Southwest garden, look to these well-adapted plants to create a geometric look

I have it off the natural shapes of plants in landscape painting design , but garden expressive style is immanent , and it ’s fair to say that gardens should be fun and expressive . We all have our own ideal “ look ” in mind when we envision a garden distance , and who ’s to say one is better than another ? Some of us are collectors of anything raw or unusual . Others seek a number of nostalgia or desire to seamlessly blend into their savage surroundings . Some like their plant well behaved and stately , express geometry and order not always found in nature . If the latter category describe you , you may find formality to be more of a challenge in the arid Southwest . There are some desiccated native plants that work out well in stately garden pattern , however .

What plants can you use in formal gardens in the Southwest?

Traditional works used in formal blueprint , such as boxwood ( Buxusspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–9 ) , beech ( Fagusspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) , and yews ( Taxusspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–8 ) , are scarcely sustainable in desert region without extravagant water use and filth modification . Some regionally adjust industrial plant lend themselves readily to formal function , like smallergrassesor slenderconifers . With others , a successful outcome does take some attainment . Well - pruned industrial plant take measured renewal and deliberate training , not just a crew cut once a year .

For those look to cultivate a formal innovation , considering some of our sustainablesouthwestern nativesis a good place to start . Many are more forgiving and adaptable to formalpruningthan we give them mention for . The following native plant are some options that may storm you . Some of these photos show the extremely pruned signifier of the plant life , but perhaps not the most originative use , so that ’s for you to decide how far you ’d like to go with pruning . After all , it ’s your garden !

Curl-leaf mountain mahogany is a great substitute for boxwood

Native to arid slope from Washington Department of State to Colorado , Arizona , and Baja , curl - leaf passel mahogany ( Cercocarpus ledifolius , Zones 4–10 ) becomes a heavy shrub or small tree with intricate fork when leave to grow into its raw habit . However , its minor sturdy evergreen plant leaves with curled leeway are well accommodate to backbreaking browsing by wildlife — so this native species responds well to heavy manicure pruning as well . It ’s a good replacement for boxwood if an evergreen plant hedge is desired . petty or no irrigation is required by this shrub in most region .

Fernbush can be sheared and is pollinator friendly

A gaudy bush of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau , fernbush ( Chamaebatiaria millefolium , zona 5–8 ) flourish in arid conditions and is resistless to honeybee when its creamy flower spikes emerge in early summertime . Also adapted to browsing , it ’s well shear and regulate , and will renew well if severe pruning is needed .

Creosote bush is a great medium-size, drought-tolerant option for formal pruning

Creosote bush or greasewood ( Larrea tridentata , Zones 7–11 ) is a signature shrub of our southwesterly deserts that can be feel from cardinal California and Nevada to just south of Albuquerque , on to south Texas and southward nearly to Mexico City . Wild specimen can be among the oldest living industrial plant in the world , make thousands of eld in years ! The tight relatedLarrea divaricataof Argentina is closely identical and sometimes considered the same specie , giving this species one of the farseeing north - S ranges in the world . Aside from those peculiarity , it ’s a perdurable plant reach up to 6 metrical unit magniloquent and panoptic and extremely drought liberal . Its lilliputian leaves and fine branching make accurate defining easy , but frequent trimming is needed to maintain detailed shapes . Creosote bush also emits a classic desert aroma after watering or rain .

Cenizo makes a well-sculpted specimen with vivid pink or purple blooms

aboriginal from Confederate States and west Texas and well into Mexico , cenizo , or Texas Ranger shrubs ( Leucophyllumspp . and cvs . , Zones 7–11 ) , roam from 2 to 6 feet tall and broad , with a casual upwardly spread or mound form . The folio may be bright green or graphic silver gray , depending on the species . Many cultivars have been select establish on these various character . All execute well in desiccate landscapes and reply well to trimming , so much so that sheared blobs can be overused in commercial-grade place setting where they become monotonous gumdrop in street median and similar locations . However , that should n’t belittle the utility of a well - sculpted specimen in a secret garden . They flower in lineal response to warm rains during the monsoon time of year , transform into a glare of pink or vivid purple for weeks at a time .

Baja ruellia has a compact habit that takes well to pruning

A small , rounded bush from Baja and Sonora , Mexico , Baja ruellia ( Ruelliacalifornicavar.peninsularis , Zones 9–11 ) can reach 5 feet tall and encompassing if allow . Its flowers are resonant of small over-embellished petunia ( Petuniacvs . , one-year ) . Its compact use is easy shaped and maintain , and while it is very drought broad , it looks and flowers its best with some occasional water .

Even if an abundance of these tightly form flora is not for you , you may retrieve a formal accent here or there suits your garden style , much like a well - point birdbath or colorful container used as a contrasting focal decimal point .

Dan Johnson lives and garden in Denver and in Tucson , Arizona . He is an associate director of horticulture for the Denver Botanic Gardens .

Photos : Dan Johnson

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