Regional Picks: Fantastic Fall Interest – Southwest

Everyone enjoy spring gardens , with the wise foliage and colourful flowers that lift our spirits after a long , leaden winter . And summertime gardens are glorious , of course , with an abundance of bluff blooms and rich colors that absolutely suit outside summer activity . By August , though , heat and ironic spells take their toll on natural spring and summer perennials ; garden can look tired and tattered .

Time to draw back indoors ? No direction . Below are four plants that keep the stake get going in August and into autumn .

1. Texas Olive

Name:Cordia boissieri

Zones:9–11

Size:10 to 15 feet grandiloquent and wide

weather condition : Full sun to partial nuance ; well - drained soil

Native compass : Texas and Mexico

Texas European olive tree can be kept as a bush or be pruned into a little tree for a courtyard or by a patio . It is an splendid selection for along walls and can be used as a covert if left unpruned . It also make a peachy screen background works for other little succulents , bush , or herbaceous perennials . Texas Olea europaea is deal a slow grower , so it may take a few season to institute the stature and width you desire . Its white flower flush year - round except during frigid wintertime , and it does produce olivelike fruits , but they are n’t edible . Its moody green leave are oval - regulate and feel fuzzed or velvetlike to the touching . Best of all , it ’s an evergreen , so you get that continuous cover and people of colour throughout fall and wintertime .

2. Hopbush

Name:Dodonaea viscosa

Size:6 to 12 feet tall and 4 to 10 feet wide

Native reach : Mexico and Southwestern United States

If you are looking for a shrub that is lush , you have establish it . Hopbush is excellent for viewing , does well around pool ( it tolerate eminent heat ) , and lends a semitropical feel to the landscape . It is also a nice pick for a hedge . The white bloom are inconspicuous and bloom during the spring months with papery - fly seedpods alike to what you would chance on the hop used for beer devising — thus the name . The pod can be red ( pictured ) , pink , green , yellow , or tan . Hopbush is a moderate to quick raiser and stay evergreen through the gloaming and winter as long as temperatures do n’t go too humble .

3. Texas Sage

Name:Leucophyllum frutescens

Zones:8–11

Size:6 feet grandiloquent and 8 feet panoptic

Conditions : Full sun ; well - drained soil

Another great evergreen for fall is Texas sage . Although its silver - gray , velvetlike foliation is stunning , it ’s the spectacular purple , toll - shape flower that make this plant a great addition to your garden pallet . The efflorescence show is strongest in fall too , when other shrubs are winding down for wintertime . Texas salvia actually bloom in response to the take back autumn rains . During the rest of the year , you’re able to count on this tough shrub to tolerate extreme heat and long periods of drought .

4. Slipper Plant

Name:Pedilanthus macrocarpus

Size:3 to 5 foot marvelous and 3 to 4 feet wide

aboriginal range : Sonoran Desert of northwestern Mexico and Baja California

This is a beautiful succulent that produce orangish - scarlet , slipperlike flowers at the peak of its stems from spring to early fall . If you need to bid hummingbird into your garden , this is a must - have perennial . Slipper plant does well in containers but is also an first-class choice for hot , refl ected area of the garden , or planted en masse shot along wall or fencing for a spectacular consequence . The works frame multistemmed green or grey-haired clustering over time . These radical can be fluid or more or less rough and exude a clean milky sap if pruned or break . Be certain to keep the irritating sap aside from eyes and skin .

Tina Wilson is the director of horticulture at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix .

Photos : millettephotomedia ( 1 , 3 ) ; Joshua McCullough ( 2 ) ; Bill Johnson ( 4 )

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Texas Sage

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