Southwest US

Rock Fleabane. A mighty mite in the Asteraceae family, this rock crevice dweller was not discovered until 1978 in the Chiricahua Mts in Arizona and later was found 200 miles east in the Black Range of New Mexico. It has been very easy and rock hardy for us and although drought tolerant, adapts to frequent irrigation if given excellent drainage. Small white flowers dot the less than 1" tall ground-hugging mat of small leaves. Perfect for a trough, filling in crevices in stone walks or chinking the seams in a rock wall.

This Spoon Yucca comes from a seed collection in Grant County, New Mexico at 6800'. This is a full sun, drought tolerant impressive piece of work when it is mature. The flower spike can reach 10'-15' with thousands of packed creamy florets arising from the center of the well-armored rosette of narrow, bluish, toothed leaves. Eventually these can develop a trunk to 4' or more but pragmatism suggests you find great and justified reward when these young plants grow to be a 3'-4' trunkless plant with lovely blood-letting foliage.

This is a tighter form of what is an already excellent species. Evergreen needle-like leaves clad the many thin and short stems, reminiscent of Phyllodoce, our local Mountain Heather. A legion of pinkish red flowers beckon hummers from June into August on a plant 8-10" tall and 30" wide. Good drainage.

A Plant Select release out of Colorado, this is a vigorous and floriferous selection of the species getting 12"-18" tall and wider. This has myriad tubular, orange flowers that are hummingbird crack which flower for many weeks in summer to early fall. Low water needs, don't kill it with the kindness of rich compost. Another positive is that deer - ours anyway - don't like Penstemon. An ideal rock garden candidate.

A collection from Mt Lemmon in Arizona which is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains.  This is a very ornamental relative to our native Madrone, Arbutus menziesii and the Strawberry Tree, Arbutus unedo. This broadleaf evergreen will become a small to medium-sized tree in time with red-orange new growth and yellowish to pinkish round fruit which follows small, white, urn-shaped flowers which are enjoyed by bees.  Prefers good drainage in a lean mineral soil on the dry side.  Once established, should require no or little summer water here in Mediterranean Puget Sound.

Seed collected by FRBC botanist Dr. Cody Hinchliff in Arizona from a summer rainfall area. Don't panic - this will still be tolerant of dry but will be more amenable to summer water than others. Wider than tall as it spreads by underground stems, the narrowly tubular scarlet flowers are a late summer to fall delight. Formerly Zauschneria. A Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy Collection

This collection is from nearly 6000' in San Miguel Co., New Mexico and hardy down to Zone 5. This yucca relative makes dense clumps of thin grassy leaves to 3' tall and holds the dense plumes of creamy flowers nestled in the uppermost leaves. The brown seed heads evoke fat cigars. Young plants for dry situations with good drainage.

Yellow Jacob's Ladder. A nice unexpected departure from the usual blue flowers of Polemonium as these are yellow with lacquered tomato. This little flowering powerhouse hails from the Southwest and northern Mexico and can put all it has to give into the many flowers so save seed and you can let it self-sow. Only need to buy it once which is pretty cool. Thanks to Claire Cockroft for sharing.

A very slow-growing tree-form yucca from an Ian Barclay collection near Rodeo, NM. Doesn't need great age and trunk development to produce tall stalks of creamy white flowers which is good because if you are like us, you're buying ripe bananas. Ian is a font of knowledge on cold-hardy, drought tolerant plants.

A wild collection from 4450' in Eddy County New Mexico. With stems to 3', the tubular red flowers rank one side of the stem looking very refined. An unspoken secret of the very refined is their dense scruff of golden, decidedly pubic hairs just inside the throat. These catch and transfer pollen while keeping the flower's naughty bits hot, steamy and ready.

Whipple's Penstemon. Broadly distributed on both sides of the Rockies down the US, this should be more widely available. Most commonly with clustered down-turned trumpets of a rich burgundy to purple, different population can also be white or lavender. Very pleasing in all of its forms, this is a good garden plant taking more moisture than a lot of the rock garden Penstemons.

One of those perennial Lobelia that shouldn't be as hardy as it is but mountainous areas of southern Arizona and northern Mexico have plants with surprising hardiness. A graceful clump of thin willowy leaves on stems 15"-24" tall with a profusion of midsummer tubular red flowers with a bright yellow throat. Deciduous in winter, ours handles our brief drops to 10F with mulch. Good drainage aids in winter survival.

Pewter Moon Evening Primrose. A fine very large flowered form with green to gray leaves and reddish stems. Big rounded golden yellow flowers open at dusk and carry on well into the next day. A good hardy and drought tolerant plant that works it in the rock garden or Garden of Neglect. Worth growing just to watch the Sphinx Moths go delirious in the gloaming. Good drainage.