1. Darcy’s Mexican Sage
Name:Salvia darcyi
USDA hardiness zones:6 to 10
Size:3 to 4 pes tall and wide
precondition : Full Lord’s Day to partial nuance ; well - drained stain
This herbaceous salvia with bright , coral crimson blooms has many qualities that make it a must - have . It bloom from midspring to go down , and if you have a enceinte area to fill , this plant can do it relatively chop-chop yet not aggressively . I can , in fact , pull it out by its root with just a light pull of the root word if it fetch out of bounds , and I ’ve never be intimate it to choke out anything near it . Darcy ’s Mexican salvia does not need much H2O nor does it take staring drain . This allows it to be commix with plants that vary in their wet needs . hummingbird seem to be the only matter that likes this plant more than gardeners .
2. Texas Bird of Paradise
Name:Caesalpinia gilliesii
Zones:9 to 11
Size:6 to 8 feet tall and wide
Conditions : Full sun ; well - debilitate soil
This big bush is a gravid specimen for an arid garden . It does not depend like much when it ’s young but fills out nicely , eventually front like a miniature beloved mesquit Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Prosopis glandulosa , zone 8–11 ) . The structure of Texas bird of paradise is idle with finely textured , doubly - compounded leaves . The blooms , which you’re able to enjoy for most of the summer , are a piece of nontextual matter by themselves ; they are mostly yellow with a clump of red stamens . In fond climate , this plant life is evergreen , but in my area of Dallas / Fort Worth , it is deciduous . If it suffers any damage from a cold-blooded winter , it might take to be cut back .
3. Firespike
Name:Odontonema strictum
Zones:8 to 11
Size:5 fundament tall and 2 to 3 feet extensive
weather condition : fond to full refinement ; moist , well - debilitate grease
When I first saw this plant , I recall that it was beautiful but assume it would never make it through most winter here in the Southern Plains ; I was jubilantly prove wrong . The beautiful bright crimson bloom of firespike are unparalleled in the shade . Its big , glossy , dark green leaf is another plus , but be forewarned that it will generally give way back in wintertime ; far south , it can be evergreen . The peak start in late summer and last into fall . Because it ’s a moderate weewee user , firespike would probably not do well in a planting bed designed for drouth - liberal plant .
4. Flowering Senna
Name:Senna corymbosa
This bush is aboriginal to Argentina and Brazil but has adapted to much of the Southern Plains . How inhuman our wintertime is determines whether this plant is evergreen or semievergreen . Its small leaves make it finger light and slack in the garden , but the blooms are the fun part : The plant is coat with small yellow flowers all summertime . Flowering senna works well in an arid planting because it prefers little water supply , but it can address some moisture . Its leafage is non-white and glossy enough to tote up a tropical feel to a grouping of arid plant life and to tally correctly in , as well , with a lush boundary line .
Michael Kinler is a landscape painting designer at Redenta ’s Garden , a garden shop class and design firm in Arlington , Texas .
Photos : # 1 , courtesy of Plant Delights Nursery , Inc. ; # 2 , Danielle Sherry ; # 3 , millettephotomedia.com ; # 4 , Joshua McCullough
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