Desert Landscape Design

Each garden has it's own challenges and desert landscape designs are no exception. Long, hot and dry summers can be a killer for tender plants. The short answer? Plant native plants for a xeriscape garden. The long answer? (and more ideas?)... read on.

Style

The desert is bold and full of color and texture. Because of this, two garden styles immediately come to mind -- Natural and Modern. Modern landscape design works with minimal detail.

Instead, it focuses on bold gestures, form, and line to get its point across. Plants in this style are used for the same types of bold gestures. They aren't usually used for their flowers unless it's a large grouping of one type.

Desert landscape designs work so well in modern landscape design. Imagine the spiky yucca against the softer texture of crushed granite. Or the dramatic line of an upright cactus pointing towards the sky. Wow.

Natural landscape design in the desert also works well. For inspiration, just take a drive. It's enchanting. The colors of the hills, the cactus and rocks. Try recreating some of that at your home.

Shade

Plan for shade. Enjoying the outdoors in the desert means you really need some shade. Otherwise, you'll be inside much more than you plan on.

Shade could be a covered porch or patio at the house -- a great place to dine alfresco, too! Otherwise, a pavilion in the center of the garden would be quite dramatic.

When you plan the shade in your desert garden, plan for how you will use it. Just the two of you and a cup of coffee? The space might be small and intimate.

Dining with family... a lot of family? Plan for it. Think about how much furniture you'll need, too.

If you're thinking 'pergola' for your desert garden... Remember that any plants will have to grow before you get much shade. It may take awhile.

Texture

Play with pebbles. Use rock or smooth stones to create some interesting texture in desert landscape designs. Crushed granite has small texture. Cobblestones big texture. Mix that in with some plants.

Desert landscape plants have great texture possibilities. The bold agave plant with a cluster of boulders and Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) would be very interesting. So would a smooth stucco wall with Purple Prickly Pear (Opuntia santa-rita) in front of it.

Color

Remember that color is only one of the many elements that will make your garden beautiful. If color is the first and only thing you consider, the impact will fall short of what you want.

That said, color is a great way to get beautiful. In the desert, stronger colors work well. This is because the sunlight will wash out a pale pastel. Other colors that you might consider -- look to the hills. It's no wonder that many stucco homes and walls are coral color.

When you look at the color of your home and walls, consider how the color of the plants and their flowers will look against it. Will it be dramatic or subtle?

Containers

Containers are another way to get color and texture into your design. If you make them easily movable, you'll have a look that you can change with the seasons. Even if you don't fill them with plants, dramatic shapes offer splashes of boldness.

Desert landscape designs are beautiful. Decide the style that you love. Think about the shade you'll create. Plan for some dramatic color and texture. Most of all, have fun!

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