If you live in a hot or dry climate, you likely want your landscaping to look amazing, but you may not know the best way to do this. While establishing a lush, green lawn in hotter climates isn’t impossible, it is often costly and can have negative impacts on the environment. Gaining inspiration from natural desert landscapes can not only improve the visual aesthetic and curb appeal of your home, but it can also save you money and time as well! In this blog, we’ll go over the best plants to use in a desert landscape, how to landscape your yard with rocks and stones, and inspiration for low maintenance drought-tolerant front yards. Keep reading to discover more about desert landscaping!
The Best Plants to Use in a Desert Landscape
One of the best things you can do to improve the desert scenery of your landscaping is to choose plants that already grow natively in your area. Especially if you live in an arid or desert climate, choose plants that don’t require a lot of water like yucca, bottlebrush, or cactuses. Cactuses in particular don’t need much attention. Below are some varieties of plants that could be a great addition to your modern desert landscape:
Spider Cactus – Spider cactuses are large plants with minimal spines and ball-shaped body. They have white, pink, pale pink, or pale purplish flowers that can grow up to 11cm long in diameter.
Golden Barrel Cactus – Another spherical cactus, the golden ball cactus is short and their distinctive color make then a great addition to your desert scenery. The also occasionally have bright yellow flowers that bloom at the top of the plant.
Yucca – There are multiple varieties of this plant and are great for desert scenery as they are extremely hardy and can handle below-freezing conditions.
Aloe vera – Not only does aloe vera work great for desert landscapes, but it also requires very little water and produces a gel on the inside of its leaves that is good for soothing minor burns.
Landscape Your Yard with Rocks and Stones
Modern desert landscapes often include rocks and stones as this is much more economical and low-maintenance option than trying to grow a lush, green lawn. Mixing up shapes, colors, and sizes of the rocks in your landscaping can help you create a personal aesthetic for your front or back yard that perfectly suits your yard’s space. Don’t be afraid to “upcycle” different items and include them in your modern desert landscape. For example, used tires can be picked up for free from your local recycling center and can be repurposed to make a garden pond, a tire climber for your children, or used to create decorative planters.
One thing to avoid when using planters in your desert scenery is to avoid using black pots. Keeping plant life in these cool enough to survive the hottest months of the summer can be extremely difficult. Glossy white pots are the best at reflecting light, followed by silver, red, orange and yellow. Black pots may be useful for keeping your seedlings warmer in the winter months but can be a death sentence for your plants in the hottest months.
If you’re looking to upgrade your landscaping but aren’t sure where to begin, speaking to an experienced landscaper can be a great way to get the ball rolling. At Cutters Edge, our experienced team of landscape professionals understands the South Florida market and have decades of experience in providing solutions for their customers – no matter their budget. Get in touch today to discuss your unique landscaping dreams.
