Cactus mother plants in the Timberline Gardens Cactus House.
Having grown up in Colorado it’s easy to take for granted the native beauty (the aesthetic) of the plains and foothills. The native flora is a beautiful tapestry of grasses, succulents and shrubs. They are intertwined in an amazing matrix that we water-conscious gardeners can only hope to mimic. I find that folks who move here from other (moister) climates either love this aesthetic or hate it and want their ferns and rhododendrons instead.
Among my favorite native plants are the cacti, yuccas and agave. In June and July these desert succulents have an explosion of flowers in amazing colors. We’ve been working hard at Timberline to bring you the best and hardiest of these wonderful desert plants.
Besides the floral display, each of these plants has a unique foliage or spine color and texture. Some cacti are woolly with spines some are nude. They contrast so beautifully with the fine textured leaves of the Harimann’s Yucca and the broad blue leaves of the Mezcal Agave.
Other desert plants like the soft-plumed Mexican Feather Grass provide a softening contrast to the edgy cacti. Our favorite desert shrub Manzanita has rich green leaves every month of the year. It’s the ideal shrub in really harsh locations where other shrubs have failed.
Typical landscapes in our area are lacking in evergreen or winter interest. With this pallet of plants the garden can look just as beautiful in the winter as in the summer.
Ground covers that complement cacti, yuccas and agave include sedums, iceplants and sempervivums. Iceplants are a blaze of color from April through August depending upon species. Bulbs like species tulips are fantastic to plant in the succulent groundcovers for extra-early flower color.
If you want a super-low water garden, consider using desert succulents. Not only is this type of arrangement beautiful but low in maintenance and only used about 10% of the water of a traditional garden. As the succulents, cacti and ground covers meld and flow together the effect can be magical.
Right now at Timberline Gardens, the desert cacti, agave, yuccas and ground covers are 20-30% off. It’s a GREAT time to plant them! Watch our spring class schedule for classes about growing desert plants and check out Kelly’s website for more information www.ColdHardyCactus.com.
I was wondering if it was too late to plant cactus, thanks. Mexican feather grass hasn’t proved hardy for me or my neighbor, but the manzanitas after a few mis-sitings are flourishing on a hot sandy western slope (they do get suplemental water at least twice a week).