Gardening Gardening By Region Gardening in the Southwest 15 Beautiful Native Plants for Southwestern Gardens By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on July 29, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos If you don't live in the Southwest, you would probably describe the landscape as simply "dry." But if you're a desert dweller, you know it's full of life, vibrancy, and color. Add low-maintenance beauty to your yard with these tough Southwestern desert plants, whether you have a native garden or just want to bring desert appeal to your corner of the world. 01 of 16 Autumn Sage Salvias are tough to defeat just about anywhere you plant them. Autumn sage is an especially fine perennial that bears evergreen foliage and clusters of red, purple, pink, or violet flowers from late summer through autumn. Like most salvias, this is a favorite of butterflies and hummingbirds. Name: Salvia greggii Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 2 feet tall Zones: 7-9 Learn more about sage. 02 of 16 Yellow Columbine Among the most graceful desert plants for landscaping, yellow columbine is vigorous, heat-tolerant, and a lot tougher than its wispy flowers suggest. The yellow blossoms attract hummingbirds and butterflies and bloom almost continually if frequently deadheaded. Name: Aquilegia chrysantha Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 3 feet tall Zones: 4-8 Learn more about columbines. 03 of 16 Wine Cups An extremely tough little groundcover, wine cups (also called poppy mallow) bear burgundy-red flowers from late spring to midsummer. Even when not in bloom, the low-growing, attractively divided foliage makes a beautiful addition to a desert garden. Name: Callirhoe involucrata Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained Size: To 1 foot tall Zones: 4-8 Learn more about wine cups. 04 of 16 Bunny Ear Cactus An evergreen cactus that's as cute as its namesake, the bunny ear cactus rarely produces spines. Its bright yellow flowers appear in spring and summer. Name: Opuntia microdasys Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 2 feet tall Zones: 8-10 05 of 16 Texas Red Yucca Red yucca. Texas red yucca features bright red flowers in summer that attract scores of hummingbirds. As you'd expect from a Southwestern native, it's reliable and heat- and drought-tolerant. Name: Hesperaloe parviflora Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 4 feet tall Zones: 8-10 06 of 16 Add Natives to Your Landscape Learn how to incorporate natives into your landscape for a cohesive, beautiful display and a dose of local flavor. 07 of 16 Pineleaf Penstemon A first-rate plant for attracting hummingbirds, pineleaf penstemon offers beautiful fine-textured foliage and bright orange-red flowers for six weeks in summer. Name: Penstemon pinifolius Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 16 inches tall Zones: 4-9 Learn more about penstemon. 08 of 16 Spanish Bayonet An evergreen with bold, blue-green foliage, Spanish bayonet is a year-round garden highlight. White bell-shape flowers appear above this yucca's foliage in summer, dangling like ripe fruit. Name: Yucca harrimaniae Growing Conditions: Part shade, dry soil Size: To 4 feet tall Zones: 5-8 Learn more about yucca. 09 of 16 Tetraneuris A dwarf plant well-suited to the front of a border, tetranueris offers tidy mounds of blue-green foliage and beautiful daisy-shape golden-yellow flowers. It's a long bloomer, too, often flowering from spring until fall. Name: Tetraneuris acaulis Growing Conditions: Full sun and dry, well-drained soil Size: To 6 inches tall Zones: 4-8 10 of 16 Red Hyssop Agastaches are good for just about every region, and red hyssop is an especially strong choice. This tough, drought-resistant perennial produces orange, red, or apricot blooms for a long stretch of summer. Its aromatic foliage assures deer and rabbits won't stop for a snack. Name: Agastache rupestris Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 4 feet tall Zones: 4-9 Learn more about agastaches. 11 of 16 California Poppy This longtime favorite—and the state flower of California—flaunts gorgeous flowers in shades of orange, yellow, cream, apricot, and pink throughout the summer. The finely cut blue-gray foliage is delightful, too. Name: Eschscholzia californica Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 18 inches tall Zones: Annual Learn more about California poppies. 12 of 16 Desert Sunflower A long-blooming favorite with golden, daisy-shape blossoms, this flowering desert plant erupts with color throughout spring and may rebloom again in fall. When not in bloom, its attractive rabbit- and deer-resistant fuzzy gray foliage takes center stage. Name: Geraea canescens Growing Conditions: Full sun, well-drained soil Size: To 3 feet tall Zones: Annual 13 of 16 California Fuchsia This evergreen perennial groundcover offers spectacular orange and red flowers in late summer. The vibrant display is long-lasting and beloved by hummingbirds and butterflies alike. Name: Zauschneria californica Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 12 inches tall Zones: 8-10 Learn more about fuchsias. 14 of 16 Indian Paintbrush Attract hummingbirds to your garden with this flamelike, drought-tolerant perennial. Brilliant vermillion-red flowers appear from late spring all the way until frost. This long-blooming plant thrives almost everywhere. Name: Castilleja integra Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 3 feet tall Zones: 4-7 Learn more about Indian paintbrushes. 15 of 16 Perennial Sunflower The perennial sunflower is one of autumn's showiest plants. Hordes of bright, golden-yellow flowers adorn tall stems and attract butterflies. One of our favorite selections is pale 'Lemon Queen'. Name: Helianthus maximiliani Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil Size: To 8 feet tall Zones: 4-9 Learn more about perennial sunflowers. 16 of 16 Green-Flowered Hedgehog Cactus A little plant with a big name, green-flowered hedgehog cactus forms tight, spiny green globes that look great in rock gardens. Watch for the iridescent green flowers in early spring. Name: Echinocereus viridiflorus Growing Conditions: Full sun, dry soils Size: To 9 inches tall Zones: 4-10 Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit