How To Decide If A Desert Garden Is The Right Choice For You

Have you ever been captivated by the almost alien-looking landscape of a desert garden like the Joseph Wood Krutch Garden at the University of Arizona or the Chihuahuan Desert Gardens at the University of Texas? If you're simply enthralled by this type of landscaping, you might wonder whether a desert garden is the right choice for you. A desert garden incorporates drought-tolerant plants that thrive in hot and dry climates. Rather than the traditional lawn and flower beds, xeriscaping involves pairing plants such as succulents, cacti, and native grasses with large rocks and inorganic mulches. This might be the right solution for you if the area you live in doesn't receive a lot of rainfall and experiences high heat in summer. There are plenty of drought resistant plants that will thrive without much water. It's also a good option if you want a low-maintenance landscape that still looks good. Vegetation adapted to growing in a desert garden can often handle fairly poor quality soil, so establishing your garden shouldn't take a lot of extra effort.

You don't actually have to reside in the desert to create a successful arid weather-loving garden. The trick is to choose plants carefully, take the time to establish a plan on how best to group them together, and add other interesting elements such as large boulders and different types of gravel mulch. Choosing the best outdoor plants if you live in a dry climate isn't that difficult if you look at some examples of desert-like gardens around your neighborhood. 

If you want to conserve water and don't relish spending hours every day dousing your plants by hand, a desert garden can be the answer. You can easily select plants that get by on minimal rainfall. This is also ideal if you spend a lot of time away from home because your plants will take care of themselves while you're not there. You'll find that many species adapted to this type of environment don't require a lot of extra nutrients, either. This means you don't have to fertilize often, saving you both time and money. Plus, dry weather plants don't need extensive pruning as their natural growth habits ensure beautiful shapes without the need for intervention.

For those that have clay soils that are alkaline, then a desert garden is ideal because you can choose species that will happily grow in this kind of setting. A lot of desert plants have the ability to extract the minerals from clay soils to help them survive and grow. Desert gardens can be colorful too since a lot of the flora that's suitable for arid landscaping will produce stunning flowers and have brightly colored foliage. Look for plants that are native to your region because they're already adapted to the growing conditions they are going to experience in your yard. And, if you want to add even more color to your outdoor space, there are many drought-resistant flowers perfect for hanging baskets that you might like to try.