What’s Chewing On My Leaves?

Arizona garden, AZ Plant Lady, California desert garden, desert gardening, Landscape Problems, Nevada garden, New Mexico garden, Perennial, Roses in the Desert, Shrubs, Southwest garden

Have you ever noticed circular areas missing from your leaves? If so, you aren’t alone. The other day I noticed several of my plants with neat semi-circular sections missing. But, was I worried? Nope, and I’ll tell you why in my latest garden video.

The Enigmatic Damage to Leaves

A Puzzling Leaf Discovery

Noelle: Hey there, fellow garden enthusiasts! Today, we’re diving into a bit of a mystery. As I was strolling through my garden, I couldn’t help but notice something quite peculiar – several of my plant leaves had neat, semi-circular sections missing. Now, I know this might raise some alarms for many gardeners, but fear not, for I’m here to share some insights and reassure you that it’s not as ominous as it might seem.

Noelle: First things first, let’s take a closer look at these mysterious leaf patterns. You can see here on this rosebush, there’s a semi-circular chunk missing from one of the leaves. And over here on this hibiscus, another one. So, what’s going on? Is it some nefarious garden pest?

The Twist in the Tale of Leaves

Noelle: Well, here’s the twist – it’s not a pest at all! In fact, this leaf damage is quite natural and not something to fret over.

You see, the culprits behind these neat, semi-circular holes are none other than the remarkable leafcutter bees. Leafcutter bees are a type of solitary bee, and they are truly fantastic pollinators. What might appear as leaf vandalism is, in fact, a vital part of their unique nesting process.

Leafcutter bees utilize these semi-circular leaf sections to construct their nests. If you take a closer look, you might even spot some of these leaf sections tucked away in the nooks and crannies of your garden.

The Precision of Leafcutter Bees

Meticulous Craftsmen

Noelle: Leafcutter bees are known for their precision. They cut these perfect curves from the edges of leaves, and they’re surprisingly meticulous about it. The remarkable thing is that these bees aren’t interested in damaging your plants; they’re simply striving to build a safe and cozy space for their offspring.

Beneficial Garden Partners

Noelle: Now, here’s the best part – these bees are great for your garden! As they visit your plants to collect nectar and pollen, they’re inadvertently pollinating your flowers. This pollination process is an essential aspect of maintaining a healthy garden ecosystem.

Embrace the Leaf Patterns

A New Perspective

Noelle: So, the next time you come across these mysterious leaf patterns, don’t panic. Instead, take a moment to appreciate the hard work of these industrious leafcutter bees and the positive impact they have on your garden.

Thanks for joining me on this little garden mystery journey. If you enjoyed learning about leafcutter bees and want to see more fascinating garden insights, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and give this video a thumbs up. Happy gardening!

In summary, the seemingly mysterious leaf damage caused by leafcutter bees is nothing to worry about. These industrious pollinators are beneficial to your garden, and their leaf-cutting activities are just part of their nesting process. So, next time you spot these neat, semi-circular holes in your leaves, remember to appreciate the role of leafcutter bees in your garden’s ecosystem. Happy gardening!

Has this happened in your garden? What plants were affected?

Behind Every Green Thumb Are a Trail of Dead Plants

Arizona garden, desert gardening, Horticulturist, Landscape Problems, Perennial, Shrubs, Southwest garden

A ‘Painted Lady’ butterfly drinking nectar from a lantana.

Learning from Mistakes in the Garden: A Green Thumb’s Journey

Embracing the Reality of Gardening

Do you know someone who has a green thumb? Usually, it’s someone with a beautiful garden that stands out among their neighbors with thriving plants that flourish.

While you may think people with green thumbs are born and not made, I’ll let you in on a BIG secret – behind every green thumb is a trail of many dead plants.

Behind the Scenes of a Green Thumb

It’s true. There isn’t a single experienced gardener who has never had a plant die in their garden. Of course, someone with a green thumb may be hesitant to reveal this fact, and you may not notice because dead or failing plants are usually pulled out before people notice.

I’m not exempt from this either – I’ve had many plants die on my watch.

Newly planted ‘Blue Bell’ (Eremophila hygrophana) shrubs

Factors That Affect Plant Health and Your Green Thumb

Believe it or not, the fact that plants die in your garden helps you to become better at growing them. While your first inclination may be to get frustrated about the loss of a plant, look at it as a gardening lesson instead.

“Every dead plant is an opportunity to learn about what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future and become a better gardener in the process.”

There are several factors that can affect whether or not a plant does well. These include the following:

1. Climate Adaptation

Is it well-adapted to your climate?

2. Proper Exposure

Was it planted in the right exposure (sun, filtered sun, or shade)?

3. Irrigation Needs

Did it receive the proper amount of irrigation?

4. Maintenance Practices

Was it maintained correctly (pruning, fertilizing)?

New ‘Blonde Ambition’ (Bouteloua gracilis)

Green Thumb Research and Experimentation

Researching plants before purchasing them will help you to avoid potential problems. But often the best way to learn how a plant will do is to grow them yourself.

Of course, it’s never a good idea to put a shade-loving plant in full sun, or vice versa as you’ll probably be replacing it soon.

As a horticulturist, I experiment in my garden with newer plants that have come onto the market. Several years ago, I planted several ‘Blonde Ambition’ (Bouteloua gracilis) grasses. I had heard a few different tips about how to grow them and the best exposure – one says that filtered sun is a must while another person says it can handle full sun. So, I am trying them out in my front yard to see for myself where they will receive filtered shade until the afternoon when they will be blasted by the sun. UPDATE – they do best in full sun 🙂

*One fun bonus of being a horticulturist is that growers often send plants for free so I can try them and give them feedback about how they grow in a low-desert garden.

The Role of Nearby Trees

A new Parry’s penstemon (Penstemon parryi) finds a home next to my gopher plant (Euphorbia biglandulosa).

Other things that can affect how new plants will do are nearby plants – specifically trees.

One month later.

A tree that creates dense shade will make it difficult for many flowering plants to do anything but grow foliage at the expense of flowers. However, filtered shade from desert natives such as mesquite and palo verde create an ideal environment for many blooming plants that enjoy a little respite from the full sun.

New varieties of autumn sage with the brand new lavender ‘Meerlo’.

Unpredictable Nature of Gardening

Sometimes, there isn’t much information available on new plant introductions and how they will do in an area with extreme weather such as our hot, dry one. In this area, a grower sent me plants to see how they would fare in a low desert garden. From past experience, I knew that salvia would need some shade, but the lavender was a mystery. I’ve seen some other species of lavender doing well in full sun while others doing well in filtered shade.

As you can see, the ‘Meerlo’ lavender did very well in my zone 9 garden even though the actual information on the plant tag states that it does best in zone 8 and below.

Green Thumb Lessons

This is a lesson that I could have only learned by trying out this plant in my garden. While it could have died, it didn’t and I’ve learned from the experience, which adds to my overall garden knowledge.

So, the next time you find a dead plant in your garden, see if you can figure out why it died and learn from it. Sometimes plants die when they should be thriving for no apparent reason. Nature isn’t always predictable and sometimes you may have no answers, but you’ll be surprised at what you can learn, and before you know it, your thumb may slowly turn ‘green’.

Fuss-Free Plants for Fall Planting

The Importance of Proper Shrub Pruning

Arizona garden, AZ Plant Lady Classes, California desert garden, desert gardening, Landscape Problems, Nevada garden, Pruning, Shrubs

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take another photo of a landscape I passed by in a neighborhood where I had just finished up a landscape consultation. I was shocked at the mushroom shaped shrubs.

The Pitfalls of Shrub Pruning Mistakes

Sadly, I often see examples of truly ‘interesting’ or should I say ‘bad’ pruning. I drove by this landscape and then made a U-turn so that I could take a quick photo…

Shrub pruning

I don’t know about you, but these Texas sage shrubs look like mushrooms, don’t you think?

Sadly, pruning these beautiful flowering shrubs this way robs them of their flowers, increases maintenance, creates dead wood, and shortens their life.

Misguided Pruning in Strange Shapes

While there are quite a few shrubs that take well to repeated formal pruning – doing this to flowering shrubs should be avoided.

I must admit that I have seen Texas sage and other flowering shrubs pruned into many different shapes…

But, let me be frank – shrubs aren’t meant to be cupcakes, frisbees, or gumdrops

Why You Should Avoid Improper Shrub Pruning

Here are just a few reasons why…

1. Energy Deprivation

It removes the leaves needed for the shrub to make energy for itself

2. Increased Growth and Maintenance

Excessive pruning actually makes your shrubs grow faster, which equals MORE maintenance

3. Water Demands

Shrubs pruned often require more water as they constantly work to replace foliage lost

4. Shortened Lifespan

Continued shearing will shorten the lifespan of your shrubs

5. Aesthetic Impact

Green ‘blobs’ are ugly compared to beautiful flowering shrubs

Join Our Online Shrub Pruning Workshop

If you are tired of the time and money it takes to maintain flowering shrubs the ‘wrong’ way. I invite you to join me in my online shrub pruning workshop where I will teach you the right way to prune.

Imagine your outdoor space filled with beautiful, flowering shrubs instead of green ‘balls’. Believe it or not, the shrubs in the photo above are the SAME plant – they have just been maintained differently. The one on the left takes much more money and time and the other thrives with pruning once (or twice) a year.

In my online class, I show you how to work with your landscaper or how you can take care of your shrubs yourself. Got ‘green balls’ already in your landscape? I’ll teach you how to rejuvenate them and the best time of year to do it.

So, ditch the ‘green blobs’ in your yard and learn how to prune with confidence – it’s much easier than you think. Learn more here and what students have to say about the class.

8 Colorful Plants for the Desert Garden and Where to Find Them

Arizona garden, Cactus/Succulents, California desert garden, desert gardening, Las Vegas gardening, Nevada garden, Shrubs, Southwest garden, Trees

When people think about what a desert garden looks like, what comes to mind? Perhaps, visions of lots of brown with rocks and a cactus or two? Maybe visions of mostly brown terrain with scattered rocks and a couple of cacti? But in reality, the possibilities for colorful plants for the desert garden are far greater. Picture a vibrant landscape adorned with the entire spectrum of colors – from varying hues of red, orange, and purple to shades of pink and yellow.

I’m excited to introduce you to eight vividly colorful plants flourishing within my desert garden. All are vibrantly colorful and thrive in a hot, dry climate:

Bougainvillea 'Barbara Karst' is boldly vibrant with hot pink blooms

Colorful Plants for the Desert Garden

The Best List of Colorful Plants for the Desert Garden

Bougainvillea – Bougainvillea ‘Barbara Karst’

You can’t beat Bougainvillea for the vibrant color in the garden. It thrives in our dry, hot climate and flowers off and on spring through fall. Record-breaking heat doesn’t bother it in the least. Its resilience makes it a prime candidate for covering walls and facing challenging western exposures. For maximum flowering, they need to be in full sun. For those that don’t like the messy flowers, you can opt for dwarf varieties or plant one in a large pot, which will limit its size.

Hardy to 20 degrees F. Plant in full sun for optimal flowering.

Coral Fountain – Russelia equisetiformis

Often referred to as Firecracker Bush, this resilient plant is a colorful plant for a desert garden. It is a tropical beauty has a lovely cascading growth habit. Arching stems produce orange/red tubular flowers that delight hummingbirds. Blooming occurs spring through fall. This shrub takes a year or two before really taking off, but it’s worth the wait – I like to use them in groups of 3 to 5. It is also a good choice for adding to large containers – especially blue ones!

Cold hardy to 10 degrees F. Plant in full sun.

Firecracker Penstemon – Penstemon eatoni

Winter color is often lacking in desert gardens. However, there are many colorful plants for a desert garden that offer color through winter. This western native is my favorite during winter and spring in my front garden when it burst forth with brilliant orange/red blooms. Hummingbirds really enjoy the blooms as there aren’t many other plants for them to feed on this time of year. Prune off spent flowering stalks once the flowers begin to drop and you may get another flush of blooms to extend the season. It can be hard to find Firecracker Penstemon in box stores but local nurseries usually carry them.

Hardy to -20 degrees F. Plant in full sun.

Yellow Bells – Tecoma stans var. stans

Admittedly, there are many yellow-flowering plants in the desert, but this one is my favorite! I look forward to the gorgeous yellow blooms opening each spring in my back garden. Yellow bells bloom spring through fall,and hummingbirds are attracted to their flowers. They are fast growers and have lovely, lush green foliage. To keep them looking their best, prune them back severely to 1-2 feet tall once the threat of frost has passed in spring. There are several notable varieties of Yellow Bells in shades of orange including ‘Crimson Flare’ and ‘Sparky’.

Hardy to 10 degrees F. Plant in full sun to filtered sun.

Shrubby Germander – Teucrium fruticans ‘Azurea’

Photos don’t do this Mediterranean native justice. When viewed in person, people are immediately transfixed by the light-blue flowers (they appear more purple in photos), which appear in spring. I have several scattered throughout my back garden, and for me, they bloom throughout winter too! Using plants with silver-gray foliage near those with darker green leaves is a great way to add interest to the landscape, even when not in flower. I dearly love this shrub for its colorful winter/spring blooms in my desert garden.

Hardy to 10 degrees F. Plant in filtered sun.

Purple Lilac Vine – Hardenbergia violaceae

Here is another winter-flowering beauty. Purple flowers cover this vine from February into early March. Believe me when I say that they are a welcome relief to the winter blahs. Bees enjoy the blooms, which resemble lilacs but aren’t fragrant. It does require a trellis or other support to grow up on. When not in bloom, its attractive foliage adds a welcome splash of green throughout the year on vertical surfaces. The Purple Lilac vine is a very colorful plant for a desert garden and can be found in nurseries in fall and winter, during its flowering season.

Hardy to 20-25 degrees F. Plant in full to the filtered sun but avoid west-facing exposures.

‘Rio Bravo’ Texas Sage – Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’

If you love the color purple, you’ll want to include this variety of Texas Sage in your garden. Branches covered in masses of purple flowers appear off and on spring through fall, often in response to periods of increased humidity. The more humidity, the more flowers produced. There are many different types of Texas Sage and all add color to the desert garden. Now, you may not see them looking like this for the sad fact that many people prune them into unnatural shapes like balls, cupcakes, and even squares. Which would you rather have – a green ‘blob’ or a gorgeous purple beauty like this?

Hardy to 10 degrees F. Plant in full sun for maximum flowering.

Desert Willow – Chilopsis linearis

I want to include a tree in our list of colorful plants for the desert garden. Desert Willow is small to medium-sized tree that are native to the Southwest. Throughout the warm season, branches with bright green leaves are covered with pink blooms. The flowers add a lovely shade of pink, which is a color not always seen in the desert. There are many newer varieties of Desert Willow – I have four different ones in my garden, but ‘Bubba’ is my favorite. This is a deciduous tree and will lose its leaves in winter.

Hardy to -10 degrees. Plant in full sun.

SO, where can you find these plants?

Where to Buy Colorful Plants for the Desert Garden

I am often asked where is the best place to buy plants. Yes, you can head to your big box store, but they usually lack variety and are known to sell plants that don’t do well in our hot, dry climate.

My advice is to look to your local garden center and nursery for these and other plants for your garden.

This is a Fantastic Desert Nursery

I’d like to share with you about a new nursery that is mixing things up in a good way! Four Arrows Garden is a family business, located in Vail, AZ, where you order your plants online and they deliver them to you!

The Chavez family began their business with cuttings from succulents in their backyard that soon grew to people wanting them to offer other types of plants. She explains their unique nursery, “Our business model has changed over the year to fill the need in our community. We have transformed into “not your average nursery” because of a niche market to deliver landscape plants and creating an online shopping outlet for desert-adapted plants. We are different because we allow customers to shop for plants from the comfort of their homes.”

This Nursery Has Special Desert Plants

They source their plants from wholesale growers in the Phoenix and Tucson area. While their delivery area is primarily in the greater Tucson area, They can accept special requests from Phoenix area customers.

I encourage you to incorporate colorful plants within your desert garden to improve your curb appeal and your enjoyment of your outdoor space. Local nurseries are the best sources for these plants. If you are in the Tucson area, visit Four Arrows Garden’s online nursery to make your special order and they will deliver it to your door. Check them out on Facebook where Linsay keeps you updated on the latest plants available!

*Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Four Arrows Garden. My opinions and advice are my own.

Fuzzy Flowers and Sunscreen….

AZ Plant Lady, desert gardening, Shrubs, Southwest garden

I absolutely love spring. Some years, spring never arrives. Sometimes spring goes missing and winter turns right into summer. But not this year. We have had beautiful weather and I have enjoyed being outdoors.

But, all good things must come to an end. Now don’t get me wrong. I do like the summer, but you will find me inside much more often then outside. Sometimes I wonder if some of my plants would rather be inside enjoying the air-conditioning.

Did you know that May and June are the most stressful months for plants in the desert southwest? Well, it is. Although the hot summer temperatures cool down in the evening, the daytime heat coupled with the extreme dryness of our climate is quite stressful for plants. When the monsoon season arrives in July, the increased humidity and rain bring relief to the plants.

So, what is a plant to do when it cannot escape indoors from the heat? Well, I would love to show you one example of what some shrubs do to deal with the dry heat.

To really see what I am talking about, look closely at the photo below…

love spring

Can you see it? Can you tell what helps to protect the flowers from the sun?

Hint: Look at the little hairs on the petals.

Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) and all other Leucophyllum species have tiny hairs on their flowers, stems and their leaves, which help to deflect the sun’s rays and helps to reduce the amount of water lost to the air. It is these tiny hairs that give the leaves a gray-green color.

Drive down any street in the Desert Southwest and you will see these beautiful shrubs throughout the residential landscape.

Even though I have worked as a horticulturist for over 10 years, I am still amazed at how plants adapt to their environment.

By the way, you may be thinking that I took these close-up photos to show the tiny hairs covering the blossoms, but actually, my goal was to show how beautiful the flower was. It was only after I downloaded the pictures that I saw the tiny hairs.

It makes you wonder what else you may find just by taking close-up pictures of plants….

The Ugly Truth – What Over-Pruned Shrubs Really Look Like

Arizona garden, AZ Plant Lady Classes, California desert garden, desert gardening, Landscape Problems, Las Vegas gardening, Pruning, Shrubs

Many of us are familiar with how over-pruning can take away much of the beauty of flowering shrubs and contribute to their early death.

But, have you ever wondered what they look like on the inside?

I found this ‘ugly’ example alongside the drive-thru of Taco Bell.

Over Pruned Shrubs

It isn’t pretty, is it?

The side of the ‘Green Cloud’ Texas Sage was sheared away because it was growing over the curb.

The result of planting the shrub too close, OR the wrong plant in the bad space.

You can see the thin layer of leaves that cover the shrub and the dark, interior where sunlight seldom reaches.

This isn’t healthy for your shrubs, shortens their lifespan, and increases the amount of water they require.

If this resembles your shrub(s), the good news is that you can often fix them.

Imagine going from the shrub on the left to the one on the right.

It is possible and often a specific type of pruning known as ‘rejuvenation pruning’ is the way to do this.

In my online shrub pruning workshop, I love teaching my students how to rejuvenate their over-pruned shrubs.

It’s important to note that not all shrubs respond to rejuvenation pruning, but Cassia (Senna species), Sage (Leucophyllum species), Ruellia, Fairy Duster (Calliandra species), and Lantana shrubs respond well as long as they aren’t too old and healthy.

I encourage you to declare your landscape free of shrubs pruned into balls, cupcakes, and squares and transform it into one filled with beauty 🙂

Shrubs Aren’t Meant To Be Cupcakes, Frisbees, or Pill Boxes

Arizona garden, AZ Plant Lady, AZ Plant Lady Classes, California desert garden, desert gardening, Landscape No-No, Las Vegas gardening, Nevada garden, Pruning, Shrubs

The Pitfalls of Improper Pruning: A Tale of Flowering Shrubs

Flowering Shrubs need pruning, but how they are pruned makes such a difference. Aren’t these shrubs beautiful?

Texas Sage ‘Green Cloud’ (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Green Cloud’)

Thunder Cloud Sage (Leucophyllum candidum ‘Thunder Cloud’)

Rio Bravo’ Sage (Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’)

‘Rio Bravo’ Sage (Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’)

You would think that the beauty of these shrubs, in flower, would be enough for people to stop pruning them into absurd shapes, but sadly, this is not the case. In the Desert Southwest, there is an epidemic of truly horrible pruning that affects not only Texas Sage (Leucophyllum species), but also Cassia (Senna species), Fairy Duster (Calliandra species), and even Oleander.

The Consequences of Excessive Pruning

Unsurprisingly, excessive pruning like this is NOT healthy for shrubs and it strips them of their beauty.

The ‘Frisbee’ Phenomenon

You don’t have to go far to see these sad shrubs. All you need to do is drive down the street as I did…

Okay, it should be rather obvious, but I will say it just the same, “Do not prune your shrubs into the shape of a ‘frisbee’.

The ‘Pillbox’ Pruning

I kept driving and found even more examples of truly awful pruning. Sadly, all are within a 5-minute drive of my house.

I call this ‘pillbox’ pruning. These Texas Sage & Cassia shrubs were located across the street from the ‘frisbee’ shrubs.

An attempt at creating a ‘sculpture’? Texas Sage ‘Green Cloud’ (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Green Cloud’)

A second attempt at creating a sculpture?

Let’s get real. Shrubs pruned this way does nothing to add beauty to the landscape. And, when pruned this way, they cost more, take more time, and use more water – it’s true!

‘Cupcake’ Pruning: An Unappetizing Approach

Now on to some of my favorite ‘cupcake’ examples:

An entire line of ‘cupcakes’. ‘White Cloud’ Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘White Cloud’)

Do you think they use a ‘level’ to make the tops perfectly flat? I honestly wouldn’t put it past them.

You can see the dead area on the top, which is caused from this shrub being sheared repeatedly.

This dead growth is caused by lack of sunlight. Repeated shearing (hedge-trimming) keeps sunlight from reaching the interior of the shrub. As a result, branches begin to die.

After driving around for a while, I drove toward home when I saw the saddest ones of all…

Flowering Shrubs Need Pruning, but these are Disappointing

Now if you look closely, you can see a light layer of gray-green leaves, which really don’t begin to cover the ugly, dense branching that has been caused by years of repeated shearing.

I actually like topiary, but not when done to a Texas Sage. Some people prune up their shrubs so that they can clean up the leaves underneath more easily.

The Goal Should be to Prune with Purpose

Now, I am not against formal pruning, when performed on the right plants. But, it is not attractive when done on flowering, desert plants and it is also unhealthy for the shrubs themselves and contributes to their early death in many cases. Add to that the fact that it greatly increases your maintenance costs due to repeated pruning and having to replace them more frequently.

Now if you have shrubs that look like any of these pruning disasters, don’t panic! They can be fixed in most cases.

Now, why would anyone want to remove the flower buds from your shrubs by shearing, when you can have flowers like this?

Join the ‘Cupcake-Free’ Movement

If you are tired of unnaturally shaped shrubs in your landscape, I understand. Believe it or not, most flowering shrubs need pruning once or twice a year at most – and NOT the type of pruning into weird shapes. I find it ironic that your yard will look better when you do less.

So, if you are wanting to declare your landscape a ‘cupcake-free’ zone, I have something I think you’re gonna love. I invite you to check out my popular online shrub pruning workshop where I teach you how to maintain flowering shrubs by pruning twice a year or less. Hundreds of students have taken the course and are reaping the rewards of a beautiful outdoor space filled with colorful shrubs at a fraction of the work.

Are you ready to break out of the cycle of green blobs?

Landscape No-No’s and How to Fix Them: Over Planted, Poodle Pruned Shrubs and Lack of Variety

Cactus/Succulents, desert, desert gardening, Horticulturist, Landscape No-No, Landscape Problems, Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting, Shrubs, Southwest garden

Photo: Landscape No-No

Addressing Issues in Landscaping: A Guide to Pruned Shrubs

Have you ever driven past a landscape that had some problems with it? As a horticulturist and landscape consultant, my attention diverts whenever I see ‘Landscape No-No’s’ like this one. In this article, we’ll examine a landscape example and highlight the problems it presents.

Introduction: Identifying Landscape Problems

A while ago, I shared the photo of the landscape, above, on my Facebook page and invited people to identify three things wrong with the landscape. I received a lot of comments including “looks like Versailles by the inept” and “shrubs arranged like funny-looking ottomans spread across gravel.”

It’s essential to clarify that the purpose of showcasing landscapes like this isn’t to shame homeowners. Instead, our goal is to help you identify common problems and provide straightforward solutions to correct or prevent them in your landscaping projects.

So, using this landscape as an example, let’s look at the problems and later, focus on how to solve them:

1. Overcrowded Shrubs

It’s obvious that there are too many plants in this area and the mature size of the shrubs weren’t factored in the original design. The types of flowering shrubs in this area – desert ruellia (Ruellia peninsularis), Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica), and ‘Green Cloud’ sage (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Green Cloud’) are good choices. They are clearly spaced too closely together due to poor pruning.

2. Lack of Plant Diversity

As you can see, there is a tree, a couple of succulents (prickly pear cactus & yucca), and a LOT of shrubs. While there is a variety of plants in the landscape, there’s an overabundance of shrubs compared to other types. The landscape lacks a balanced mix of different plant types, resulting in an imbalance that affects its overall aesthetics.

3. Incorrectly Pruned Flowering Shrubs

These lovely, flowering shrubs are contorted into anonymous, green blobs. They lack in beauty and character. In fact, you would have to look closely to be able to identify what each shrub is. The problem is what is missing from this landscape. Primarily attractive shrubs which grow into their natural shapes, covered in colorful flowers. Other problems associated with maintaining flowering shrubs this way are that it is stressful for the plant, shortens their lifespan, causes them to use more water to regrow their leaves, and creates more maintenance.

Solutions: Correcting the Landscape

Now that we have identified the problems, we can now look at the solutions. I will use the landscape above as my example:

Remove excess shrubs. Remove 24 of the 32 shrubs. You will be then have eight flowering shrubs. To decide what shrubs to remove, learn what type of shrub they are and look up how large they are at maturity. Then, make sure that the ones that remain have enough room to grow. Place shrubs up near the house. This anchors the corners of the landscape, and flank an entry.

Severely prune back remaining shrubs. Many shrubs have a ‘restart button’ where much of the damage that has been done due to excessive pruning can be reversed. Severe renewal pruning entails pruning back shrubs to approximately 1 1/2 feet tall and wide in spring. You’ll have nothing left but woody branches and little to no leaves. However, this stimulates plants to produce new, healthy growth. Do this pruning in spring. The key is to keep hedge trimmers away from your newly pruned shrubs forever. Prune with hand pruners, loppers, and pruning saws. This will work with most shrubs except for a few that were in declining health.

Photo: Which one would you rather have? Learn how to maintain shrubs the right way in the desert garden in my popular shrub pruning workshop

Incorporate lower-growing plants such as groundcovers and succulents. A well-designed landscape has plants with varying heights, including those at ground level. For the landscape above, I’d add a few boulders and plant some gopher plant (Euphorbia rigida) and twin-flower agave (Agave geminiflora) alongside them. Other ideas for low-growing succulents include ‘Blue Elf’ aloe, Moroccan mound, and artichoke agave. Flowering groundcovers would also look nice like angelita daisy (Tetraneuris acaulis), blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum), and sandpaper verbena (Glandularia rigida). I like to use damianita, trailing lantana, and penstemon for color at lower heights.

Photo: Attractive desert landscape with room for plants to grow

Achieving a Balanced and Beautiful Landscape

Here is a snapshot of a landscape area at the Desert Botanical Garden where plants have room to grow. They grow into their natural shape and form.

Transforming the problematic landscape shown earlier, and others like it aren’t difficult, and the results are dramatic. What a beautiful landscape filled with healthy plants that use less water and need little maintenance.

Are you tired of shapeless shrubs that look like green blobs? I invite you to learn more about how to prune the ‘right’ way. Attend my online Shrub Pruning Workshop.

DIY Natural Household Cleaner From Citrus Peels

Old and New Blend Together in a Backyard Landscape

AZ Plant Lady, desert gardening, Ground Covers, Landscape Design, Shrubs, Southwest garden

palo verde tree bougainvillea backyard landscape

Revamping Your Backyard Landscape

Assessing the Need for Change

Do you have parts of your backyard landscape that you would like to change? Perhaps you have areas you like in your garden. There are also plants you are tired of or are struggling to manage.

I want to show you what I did in my backyard, where I blended both old and new elements. First, a little history:

Balancing Old and New in a Backyard Landscape

Preserving What Works

I was fairly happy with the areas bordering the walls of the backyard. These areas have colorful shrubs such as Bougainvillea, Coral Fountain, and Yellow Bells.

Bid Farewell to the Dominant Lawn

We removed the large lawn that had dominated the center of my backyard space last year. We made the decision to replace the grass with a focus on plants that I love and that would blend well with the existing plants.

Creating a Harmonious Landscape

A New Focal Point

The focal point is a new flagstone seating area with Adirondack chairs arranged around a portable firepit. Around this area, boulders add height and texture. Angelita Daisy, Artichoke Agave, Blackfoot Daisy, and Pink Muhly grasses surround the seating area, which adds year-round color and texture.

In another area, a gentle mound stands planted with a ‘Bubba’ Desert Willow tree. Purple Trailing Lantana grows around the tree and will soon cover the entire mound in a mass of purple blooms.

Embracing Change and Growth

At this point, the new plants are still rather small. However, plants grow quickly in the desert climate and, in another year, will soon reach their mature size.

The Beauty of Seamless Integration

The result? A backyard landscape where the new and old will blend seamlessly together. I am delighted with how the finished product looks. It took me a long time to decide what to do with this area – it is so much easier to design someone else’s yard than your own.

Stay Tuned for more Transformations:

Progress! One-Year Post Desert Landscape Renovation

Container Gardening: Growing Bougainvillea in Pots

Arizona garden, Containers, desert gardening, Drought Tolerant, Shrubs, Southwest garden

large bougainvillea in front of a southwest home

Do you love the beauty of bougainvillea? Many of us will agree that bougainvillea is beautiful, but many homeowners hesitate to grow them for a variety of reasons. The most common that I hear is that they get too big and as a result, too messy.

Embracing Bougainvillea: Maximizing Beauty while Minimizing Hassle in Containers

While both statements are certainly true, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy the captivating and vibrant beauty of bougainvillea in a more controlled manner? One can find great satisfaction in discovering how to strategically grow bougainvillea, harnessing its enchanting colors and delicate blooms while mitigating the challenges associated with its exuberant growth and occasional unruliness.

Thriving in Harsh Desert Summers: Consider Growing Bougainvillea

Let’s face it; summers in the desert can be brutal and bougainvillea are one of the lush green, flowering shrubs that thrive in intense heat and sun. So, why not consider adding one in a high-profile area where you can enjoy their beauty throughout the warm season?

Link to desert southwest Fuss-Free Plant Guide — *Grab my FREE guide for Fuss-Free Plants that thrive in a hot, dry climate!*

The Advantage of Potted Bougainvillea: Small Size, Less Mess

Growing bougainvillea in pots limits their overall size, and with smaller shrubs, there is less mess. It also makes it easier to protect them from frost damage in winter by moving the container to a sheltered location, such as underneath a patio or covering them with a sheet.

Mastering Bougainvillea Growth: Container Planting Insights

Bougainvillea make excellent container plants. In fact, many gardeners who live in cold climates, only grow them in pots and move them indoors in winter. I met a gardener in Austin, Texas who treats bougainvillea like an annual plant, planting a new one every year to replace the old one lost to winter cold. Thankfully, we don’t need to do add a new one every year.

Simple Steps to Cultivating Bougainvillea in Pots

Growing bougainvillea in pots is easy to do. Select a location in full sun where it will promote the most bloom. Bougainvillea are one of the few flowering plants that can handle west-facing exposures.

pale pink and white bougainvillea flowers in blue pot

Nurturing and Feeding Your Potted Bougainvillea for Optimal Growth

Provide support for them to grow upward if desired. You can also grow bougainvillea as more of a compact shrub form if you wish.

Water deeply and allow the top 2 inches to dry out before watering again. Bougainvillea does best when the soil is allowed to dry out between watering.

bougainvillea in containers along a hot wall

Apply a slow-release fertilizer in spring, after the danger of frost is passed. You’ll want to reapply fertilizer every three months until September.

Winter Care and Final Thoughts: Flourish with Potted Bougainvillea

Growing bougainvillea in pots keeps them small enough to make it feasible to cover them when freezing temperatures occur. So, if you like container gardening, consider growing bougainvillea in a pot for great success.

Creative Container Gardening Tips

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