Albuquerque Landscaping Plant Selection – Part Two

If you’re hoping to boost the beauty of your Albuquerque home with landscaping enhancements, look no further than your yard. Landscaping needs that invoke New Mexico’s high desert climate can also boost the value of your home in Albuquerque. Check out these stunning landscaping plants, plus a few low-maintenance shrubs that thrive in New Mexico’s climate.

New Mexico Privet

The New Mexico privet, also called desert olive, is a versatile evergreen shrub. It can be grown as a small tree up to 18 feet tall and 10 feet wide. This makes it a good plant for hedges and screens. Short, pointed, oval, green leaves are displayed in spring and summer, turning to a purple-brown in fall. The small white flowers appear in spring and produce the blue-black berries in early fall. Full sun and low water use after establishment keeps this plant drought tolerant.

Three Leaf Sumac

Three leaf sumac, also sometimes called skunkbush, is a large deciduous shrub rising 6-10 feet. It can also have small, inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers followed by reddish to orange berry-like drupes from late spring to summer. The fall foliage changes to wonderful reddish orange. When you crush the leaves, they emit a slightly skunky aroma. It prospers in full sun and is very drought tolerant. It is a perfect addition to naturalised and xeriscape plantings.

Butterfly Bush

It is a relatively fast-growing, long-living blooming shrub that provides an enticing name: butterfly bush. This shrub attracts butterflies and humming birds when in bloom in mid-summer to fall with its panicles of sweetly scented tubular flowers in varying hues of purple, pink, white, and blue. Butterfly bush grows to 8 feet in height and, if not pruned occasionally, the canes will fall over and sprawl out. Butterfly bush grows best when given at least 6 hours of sun per day and moderate amounts of water.

Russian Sage

Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is a lovely herbaceous perennial subshrub with panicles of lavender-blue flowers in late spring and summer supported on airy spikes with an upright form reaching 2-4 feet in height with silvery green foliage and feathery soft fragrant leaves. In full sun Russian sage is extremely drought tolerant. It may be subject to damage on a severe winter but often comes back from the base. Use as a specimen or plant several together.

Forsythia

Forsythia is a traditional shrub for spring blooming, widely planted for its bright yellow flowers in early spring and its deep green leaves for the rest of the growing season. Forsythia’s quick growth can reach 8-10 ft, and it benefits from light pruning for shaping. Give it full sun to part shade and average water, and enjoy the cold-hardy Forsythia as it adorns your garden in spring.