Color is a key factor in the decorating world. Whether it’s home décor, clothing or the car we drive–we all have our favorite color. Here in the desert, we can highlight our favorite color in our landscaping. Our native plants have a wonderful variety of colors to choose from, but knowing what color goes with what plant can be troublesome. So in this article, I thought I would list native plants and cacti by their name and the color of their flowers, so you can decorate your landscaping like you do your home. Unless specifically stated, all these plants are low water usage, which means little or no water necessary.
WHITE
Bush Morning Glory: a low growing silver leaf plant that blooms in the spring and fall with white morning glory looking flowers.
Lady Banks Rose: an evergreen climbing rosebush that produces single white roses (White Banksia) the size of a gardenia in the spring. Moderate water.
Saguaro Cactus: Arizona’s state flower is the saguaro flower. The saguaro blooms only in the springtime, but this cactus has a definite fashion statement.
Twisted Cereus and the Argentine Giant Cactus: both bloom in the spring and throughout the summer with large white flowers that last only one or two days. These cacti also have a fashion statement.
Desert Milkweed: produces small white flowers on tips of slender stalks. This is a favorite of the Monarch and Pink Lady butterflies.
RED
Mexican Bird of Paradise: blooms from spring to fall with red/yellow flowers that cluster together. When looked at closely the flowers resemble small miniature orchids.
Baja Fairyduster: the flowers look like a bottlebrush and blooms almost continually year round. A favorite of humming birds, and also comes in pink.
Cape Honeysuckle: has a red/orange trumpet flower that blooms from spring to fall and the leaves are a beautiful waxy deep green. Hummingbirds love these.
Penstemon: blooms throughout the summer with trumpet style flowers. Another favorite of hummingbirds.
Ocotillo: this cactus produces red blooms on the tips of its canes after a rainfall. A favorite of all birds due to the seeds from the blooms.
PURPLE
Ruellia: a hardy plant that produces purple bell shaped flowers throughout the summer. Also comes in pink.
Texas Mountain Laurel: an evergreen that produces in springtime only, purple flowers that look like wisteria and smell like grape kool-aid.
Texas Sage: produces blooms all year long and especially after a rainfall. The leaves are a silver grey throughout the year.
YELLOW
Yellow Bell (Tacoma): is a plant that can be trained into a hedge and is a favorite of hummingbirds due to the trumpet flowers that bloom from spring to fall. This plant also comes in orange.
Lady Banks Rose: evergreen climbing rosebush that has clusters of yellow miniature roses (Lutea) in the spring. Moderate water.
VARIOUS
The following are a variety of plants that bloom in various colors: Lantana, Hibiscus, Oleander, Globemallow, Prickly Pear cactus, Bougainvillea and Barrel cacti, just to name a few.
To ensure that you get the color that you want, purchase the plant while it is blooming–this is especially important if purchasing cactus.
Dottie Holman is a Lake Havasu City Master Gardener Emeritus. For details, call the Lake Havasu Master Gardeners hotline at 928-753-3788 or email mohavece@cals.arizona.edu or see them the first Tuesday of the month from 11 am-1 pm at the Mohave County Library.