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Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley 10th Annual Desert Garden Tour Sunday, April 12, 2015 12:00 until 4:00 p.m. deserthorticulturalsociety.org Little Tuscany Chino Canyon Creatures – A landscape with a home in the middle, where the landscape and setting dominate and where the home was built without disturbing the site’s 100’s years old creosotes. Take time to embrace the views and the natural habitat for local creatures that abound here from the smallest outdoor nook to the sweeping views from the pool and front yard. Gomer, the adopted desert tortoise, inhabits the swale at the side of the property and is estimated to be 75 years old. Swales are an attractive way to utilize storm water runoff to create a habitat for wildlife in your garden. 1. Baja Fairy Duster, Calliandra californica is an evergreen shrub native to Mexico and part of the pea family with red flowers, 3.5 to 5ft high. Blooms throughout year, drought tolerant when established. Full sun to part shade, well drained soil, takes well to pruning. Attracts hummingbirds and is a host plant for Marine Blue butterflies. 2. Desert Broom, Baccharis sarothroides or Greasewood is a woody shrub native to the Southwest and Northern Mexico to 10ft and grows in the Coastal Sage Scrub and Creosote Bush Scrub communities. It is a dicot with male and female plants with creamy white flowers on female plants (flower on male plants not as showy) and part of the aster family. Can be invasive, take care not to over water, very drought tolerant, clay to sandy soil, full sun, moderate to fast grower. Cultivars are smaller in size. 3. Creosote Bush, Creosote larrea tridentata, is a slow-growing evergreen shrub from 3-10ft tall native to the Southwest deserts. Long season of yellow flowers followed by small white fuzzy seed pods. Mature plants are extremely drought tolerant, young ones need adequate watering to establish, full sun and well-drained soil. Aggressively competes for water from nearby plants, seen as solitary plants in the desert. In older plants the crown will split and form a new colony as the original plant dies. “King Clone” creosote ring in the Mojave Desert is 11,700 years old (Creosote Rings Preserve). 4. California Barrel, Ferocactus cylindraceus or Miner's Compass is a cylindrical cactus that can become columnar with age to 18in and may lean toward the sun, thus point south. Native to Anza-Borrego and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Covered in long spines, straight and red when new and grey and curved as they age, bright yellow flowers that face the sun. It is threatened by collecting. Full sun, well-drained soil, drought tolerant when established. 5. California Evening Primrose, Oenothera californica is native to the Southwest deserts, chapparal and woodland ecosystems below 8000ft. It is a fragrant spreading perennial to 30” and does well on slopes, full sun, drought tolerant when established, white to pink flowers, great accent plant. 6. Pink Powder Puff, Calliandra emarginata is an evergreen shrub, native to Central America, to 7ft. Blooms throughout year, heaviest in spring, needs regular watering. Blooms in bright shade, takes well to pruning. Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. 7. Arabian Jasmin, Jasminum sambac is an evergreen vine native to Southeast Asia with white flowers that bloom with a heady fragrance. It is a plant used for perfume, tea, leis and in a variety of cultural and sacred settings. Full sun to part shade, protect from hard frost, heat and reflected heat resistant. Needs regular watering - take care in drought areas when deciding to use this plant. 8. Sandpaper Verbena, Verbena rigida is a tender perennial with purple flowers to 18in high. Spreads by rhizomes and can be invasive, long bloom season, full sun to part shade, does well in sandy soil, heat resistant, moderate water, can cut back when gets leggy. Attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. Leaves are very scratchy. 9. Wooly Butterflybush, Buddleia marrubiifolia is a Texas native to 5ft by 5ft with gray foliage woody stems and orange spherical flowers that attract butterflies spring to summer, full sun, drought tolerant when established do not over water, non-amended soil, native to limestone areas, well-drained alkaline soil. 10. Texas Ranger, Leucophyllum frutescens or Texas Sage is a Texas and Northern Mexico native to 8ft x 8ft. A prolific bloomer with purple flowers on gray green foliage and is a favorite with birds and a host plant for the Theona Checkerspot butterfly. Blooms after rainfall or high humidity. Takes to pruning but has beautiful natural shape. Lots of cultivars on the market with white, pink and blue flowers. Full sun, well-drained alkaline soil, heat, cold and drought resistant when established. If this plant has enough room to grow naturally it requires little maintenance. Written by Tracy Merrigan Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley 10th Annual Desert Garden Tour Sunday, April 12, 2015 12:00 until 4:00 p.m. deserthorticulturalsociety.org Sunrise Park Sun & Senses – A garden meant to be lived in throughout the seasons, day and night to enjoy the weather, views, birds and company. The owners wanted to create a pollinator habitat friendly to hummingbirds, goldfinches and doves and named their garden “Vista Jacinto”. It was created by the owners and Robert Musial in 2014. Robert also designed the cabana and sculpture. 1. Desert Marigold, Baileya multiradiata is a member of the aster family and characterized by individual florets arranged densely and looks like a single flower. Bright yellow flowers with green leaves with silver-white hairs that are low on the thick stems. 2. Blue Glow Agave, Agave ‘Blue Glow’ is a single rosette slow grower to 2ft tall by 3ft wide. It is a hybrid of Agave attenuata and Agave ocahui, it seems to get its broad leaves from the Agave attenuata. Blue-green leaves with red margins and short red terminal spine. Full sun with low water when established. Cold tolerant. 3. Hedgehog cactus, Echinocereus triglochidiatus or Mojave Mound or Claret Cup is a clumping cactus to 12 x 48in. It is native to California from the low to high deserts with orange to red blooms in the spring. Heat, cold and drought tolerant in well-drained soil, full sun to part shade. Pollinated by hummingbirds. 4. Blue Daze, Evolvulus glomerata 'Blue Daze’ is a flexible trailing perennial equally at home in the ground or in a pot to 1ft by 2 ft wide. Native from Texas to South Dakota, gray-green hairy foliage helps it tolerate full sun and heat in the desert, beautiful cornflower blue flowers in spring and summer. Well-drained soil, moderate water, good ground cover plant, take care to water when in a pot. Part of Morning Glory family. 5. San Pedro Cactus, Echinopsis pachanoi or Trichocereus pachanoi is native to the Andes mountains and a fastgrowing columnar cactus. to 15ft. Night bloomer with white flowers Fast grower, full sun and well-drained soil, cold tolerant, can get sun-burned. It has been used for thousands of years in traditional medicine and for religious ceremonies. The hallucinogenic alkaloid mescaline is found in this cactus. Can be confused with Peruvian Torch 6. Parry’s Agave or Mescal Agave or Artichoke Agave, Agave parryi var. truncata is moderate compact grower native to Mexico to 4ft. Rosettes have brown margins offset and create clumps. Full sun and drought tolerant with well-drained soil. Dramatic specimen plant. 7. Sisal, Agave sisalana is the agave from which sisal is harvested and is thought to be from Chiapas, Mexico. It is a sterile hybrid and propagated by offsets and bulbils. Fast grower to 6ft tall and wide, not armed with thorns but has a terminal spine. Frost tolerant to 25°, full sun with lifespan of 7-10 years. 8. Gypsum Century Plant, Agave gypsophila is a Mexican native to limestone forests to 3ft x 3ft with bluish curving toothed leaves and will off-set with age. Part shade, well-drained soil, drought and heat tolerant. Does well on slopes. Beautiful specimen plant. Orange-yellow flowers with bulbils following. 9. Octopus Agave, Agave vilmoriniana is a native cliff dweller of Mexico to 6ft. Single rosette and fast growing. It has a high concentration of sagogenin and its dried leaves are used as a soapy brush in some parts of Mexico. Beautiful specimen plant for the garden with its light-green curving leaves and lack of spines. Cold hardy to 25°. 10. Brittlebrush or Incienso, Encelia farinosa is a native to our deserts named for the brittleness of its stems, grows to 3-5ft tall. Forms new canopy of gray leaves yearly and has wonderful button shaped buds on long stems that hover over plant before opening to bright yellow blooms from March-June. Part of sunflower family.Very drought and cold tolerant, has gray hairy leaves that are common to desert plants. Spanish missionaries burned it as incense. 11. Silver Dollar Prickly Pear, Opuntia robusta is a treelike cactus to 15ft, native to Mexico. It has light yellow flowers and red or purple fruit. Drought and cold tolerant, full sun and well-drained soil. Blooms early summer, both the pads and fruit are edible. 12. Chitalpa, x Chitalpa tashkentensis is a cross between a Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis and Catalpa, Catalpa bignoniodes created in Uzbekistan and comes in a pink or white variety. A deciduous shade tree to 25ft tall that blooms late Spring to Fall and is wind and cold resistant. Drought tolerant, can mildew near coast. Showy flowers attract hummingbirds. Written by Tracy Merrigan Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley 10th Annual Desert Garden Tour Sunday, April 12, 2015 12:00 until 4:00 p.m. deserthorticulturalsociety.org Desert Park Estates Meandering Memories – Landscaper Gordon Larsen created this garden from scratch to compliment a desire for outdoor living from morning to late at night. It is an environment to enjoy alone with a cup of coffee in the morning, picking the day’s salad from the veggie patch, by the fire pit at night with friends with lots of seating areas, winding paths and water features. 1. Mesquite, Prosopis is a fast-growing deciduous tree native to the Southwest to 30ft. Extremely hardy, drought tolerant member of the mimosa family. New growth has thorns and light-yellow tassel-shaped flowers. The bean pods can be used to make flour. A hardwood for furniture and for the barbecue. 2. Brazilian Sky Flower, Duranta erecta is a vigorous fast-growing evergreen shrub native to Florida, the Caribbean and South America to 25ft. Its branches have a vining habit and its leaves and yellow berries are poisonous.Various cultivars have flowers that vary from blue, purple to white and variegated leaf and thornless varieties. Full sun to part shade, hardy to 25°, moderate water. 3. Tomlinson Natal Plum, Carissa macrocarpa ‘Tomlinson' is shrub originally native to South Africa, this is a less thorny dwarf cultivar to 2ft by 3ft wide. Flay shiny leaves help make it drought tolerant when established, full sun, tolerates wind and sandy soil, slow grower. White flowers and red editable fruit, which can be made into jam. All other parts of this plant are poisonous. Good understory plant. 4. Sago Palm, Cycas revoluta is a cycad to 20ft, normal lifespan of 50-100 years but can live for1000 years. The trunk may branch out or offset, it is a nitrogen fixer and evergreen. The cycad is not closely related to the palm and fern, it is a gymnosperm and dioecious with the male bearing cones and the female flowers, it is pollinated by insects. Sandy and well-drained soil with full sun to part shade, frost and drought tolerant when established. It flourishes in our desert and in temperate and subtropical climates. It is called a living fossil as it has hardly changed since the Jurassic period and dates to 280 million years. Highly toxic to humans and animals if ingested. 5. Cardboard Cycad, Zamia furfuracea is a cycad native to Mexico to 3ft by 6ft wide and is endangered in the wild. The cycad is not closely related to the palm and fern, it is a gymnosperm and dioecious with the male bearing cones and the female flowers, it is pollinated by insects. Sandy and well-drained soil with full sun to part shade, protect from frost, drought tolerant when established. Highly toxic to humans and animals if ingested. 6. White Mallow, Sphaeralcea “La Luna” to 3ft tall by 4ft wide. Prolific white blooms with gray-green hairy leaves, full sun to part shade, well-drained soil and drought tolerant when established. May bloom most of the year. 7. Gaura, Gaura lindheimeri is a butterfly favorite native to the Southwest with showy flowers from spring to fall to 2ft. Prune flower stalks for showier re-bloom. Full Sun and well-drained soil. Hard-prune before spring to refresh. When established drought and cold tolerant. Flowers from white to dark pink and in a variegated leaf form, green and red. 8. Autumn Sage, Salvia greggii is a favorite for hummingbirds and butterflies to 4ft. Full sun to part shade. Drought tolerant but supplemental water aids flowering season. Will bloom spring to fall, fast grower. Leaves have spicy scent. Great border plant, will self-seed and is deer resistant, cold hardy to 15-20°. Native to Texas and N Mexico. Salvia are part of the mint family, the name derives from the Latin verb salvere, to be in good health. Comes in a variety of colors including the Peaches and Cream variety seen in another garden on the tour. 9. Emu Bush, Eremophila is a shrub native to Australia with shiny green leaves. It comes in a variety of cultivars with flowers from red, pink, orange, green, violet to blue. Heat, drought, wind tolerant, needs well drained soil. Bee, butterfly and hummingbird attractor, long bloom season. Long used by Aboriginal peoples for medicinal uses. 10. Hop Bush or Hopseed Bush, Dodonaea viscosa, an attractive airy evergreen shrub fast-growing to 10ft or more. Drought tolerant when established, full to part sun. Seldom needs pruning. Great screen. Green or black leaves. 11. Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis ‘Lucretia Hamilton’ is a deciduous west Texas native to18ft. A delicate shaped tree that attracts finches and hummingbirds. Drought tolerant. Blooms on new wood spring to fall. Not related to the Willow although it grows on riverbanks and washes. This variety has more compact growth, burgundy flowers and smaller size than the white or pink flowering varieties. Written by Tracy Merrigan Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley 10th Annual Desert Garden Tour Sunday, April 12, 2015 12:00 until 4:00 p.m. deserthorticulturalsociety.org Vista Las Palmas Mid-Century Modern – A modern landscape for a mid-century home that complements its horizontal plane and embraces the dramatic rocky dam behind. Mounds planted with textural plants and gray rock provide a softness and counterpoint to the dramatic white exterior, front door path and bris soleil screen. Note the repetition of plants near the outdoor shower that create a geometric pattern as a counter-point to the house and the rock dam beyond, eventually they will clump to form a wide swath of color between pool and citrus grove. The garden was created in Fall 2014 by Hudson Hale of Water Wise Landscape with input from project architect Lance O’ Donnell. 1. Coral Fountain, Russelia esquisetiformis is native to Mexico and another hummingbird favorite to 4ft. Long flowering season from late winter through summer. Does well in full sun or part shade and is a fast grower with moderate water. Cold hardy to 15°. Beautiful cascading down walls or slopes or as a feature plant in the garden. Its coral-red flowers are striking from a distance. 2. Trailing Indigo Bush, Dalea greggii is an evergreen perennial native to the Southwest and Mexico to 2ft by 4-6ft wide. Fast grower with small gray-green leaves on long stems and small pink to purple flowers from late winter to summer. Full sun and cold hardy, well-drained soil, drought tolerant when established. Part of the pea family. 3. Palo Verde. Parkinsonia (Cercidium) ‘Desert Museum’ is a thornless naturally occurring hybrid to 30ft w to 40ft tall. A fast-grower with upright shape, full sun to filtered shade. Full canopy of yellow flowers in spring (longer season than other Palo Verdes), intermittent in summer. Prune in growing season. Drought and cold tolerant. 4. Santa Rita Prickly Pear, Opuntia santa-rita or Opuntia gosseliniana (as with some cactus there is confusion with the name) is an cactus native to Arizona and N Mexico with a spreading habit to 6ft with moderate growth. Mostly glaucous spineless pads with pink or purple tinge and white to yellow flowers in Spring with red fruit following. Drought, cold (to 25°) and soil tolerant Little water when established. All opuntia are susceptible to cochineal, an insect (used to make red dye) that leaves a white fluffy web on the cactus which can damage or kill the plant over time, remove it with a hard spray from the garden hose. 5. Desert Spoon or Sotol, Dasylirion wheeleri is a native of the Southwest and Mexico and well adapted to our desert to 6ft. Low maintenance, low water and slow grower. Will form a trunk with age and may have multiple heads. Tan flowers in summer.Very sharp and toothy leaf margins to enjoy from a distance. Full sun (tolerates part shade) with well-drained soil, cold hardy to 0°. 6. Moroccan Mound, Euphorbia resinifera is a 4-sided mounding succulent native to Morocco and the Atlas Mountains, to 2ft by 4-5 ft wide, small yellow flowers in spring, spines are along margins and tips, well-drained soil with afternoon shade in the desert, full sun elsewhere, frost tolerant. Euphorbia sap/latex is caustic and can be irritating to the eyes, skin, pulmonary system or toxic if ingested. 7. Slipper Plant, Pedilanthus macrocarpus, or Lady’s Slipper is a member of the Euphorbia family native to Baja to 5ft with mostly leafless branches and orange-red birdlike flowers Summer through Fall. Drought tolerant when established, can be frost tender, well-drained soil. Full sun to part shade, does best in our desert with some shade. Dramatic addition the garden does well in beds and containers. Attracts hummingbirds. 8. Ocotillo, Fouquieria Splendens, a semi-evergreen, up to 20ft, open vase-shaped shrub native to the Southwest and Northern Mexico. It leafs out after rainfall with ovoid leaves at the base of its spines, looses its leaves in periods of drought and blooms mostly in spring and summer with bright red tubular flowers. Hummingbirds and carpenter bees are its pollinators and it needs well-drained soil and more water than other Ocotillo species. 9. Mexican Fence Post Cactus, Pachycereus marginatus is native to Mexico to 20ft tall. Drought tolerant when established, frost sensitive. White flowers, red fruit, sandy well-drained soil. Used as a living fence. 10. Beaked Yucca, Yucca rostrata is a slow-growing treelike yucca native to the Southwest U.S. and Mexico to 15ft. It is usually single trunked but may branch out. White flowers on long stalks bloom in spring. Drought and frost tolerant in well-drained soil. Full Sun. 11. Blue Elf Aloe, Aloe v. “Blue Elf ” is a clumping aloe with blue-gray foliage and bright red-orange flowers to 2ft wide. A dramatic addition to our winter garden, blooms thru spring. Beautiful massed or in a single clump, blooms are striking from afar. Slow grower, full sun, well-drained soil, cold and frost tolerant. Blue Elf can handle the heat of our summer without burning. It is a hummingbird favorite as is the Red Yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora in the bed next to it. Red Yucca clumps up to 6ft with long-lived summer blooming pink flowers on long stalks, use same growing notes as Blue Elf, plus part shade. Written by Tracy Merrigan Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley 10th Annual Desert Garden Tour Sunday, April 12, 2015 12:00 until 4:00 p.m. deserthorticulturalsociety.org Tahquitz River Estates Seductive, Soft & Singular Style – Take time to explore this exciting garden with a surprise or interesting plant everywhere you look, from down at the ground with intimate plantings of succulents, to above your head with flowering trees to eye-level potted planters. Red-eared slider turtles rule a sunny pond and koi grace one by the pool, fruit trees abound – pomegranate, blood orange, citron to name a few. The rock used in the garden comes from Joshua Tree. The owners, landscape designers Troy and Gino, Mojave Rock Ranch, are true gardeners and have lovingly created this exciting garden at their renovated 1931 Mediterranean Revival home they’ve named “Villa Vecchia”. 1. African Daisy, Osteospermum x hybrida is a tender perennial native of South Africa and a colorful and happy addition to the desert garden and will spread to 3ft. Wide variety in flower color with green or glaucous leaves (the glaucous variety is more heat resistant in our desert), blooms Spring and Fall, may stop blooming in Summer heat. Acidic soil with moderate water. 2. Desert cassia, Cassia nemophila (Senna artemisioides filifolia) is an evergreen feathery shrub native to Australia fastgrowing to 6ft. Drought and cold tolerant. Naturally rounded shape, if needed prune when dormant. Cup-shaped yellow flowers on leaf tips late winter to summer, seed pods follow. 3. Atlas Mountain Palm, Chamaerops humilis var. argentea André is silver palm native to the mountains of Morocco and Algeria and is a slow-growing clumping palm to 12ft. It is normally dioecious, male and female flowers on separate plants like the holly bush and it pollinated by a weevil. It thrives in a temperate climate but does well in our desert and as a house plant. Frost, cold and drought tolerant, full sun to part sun. Poor to rocky soil. This plant is a beautiful focal plant for beside the pool, the entry or courtyard. 4. Terrestrial Bromeliad, Bromeliaceae is a large family of plants native to the tropics. They vary from epiphytes like Spanish Moss, Tillandsia usneoides to terrestrial species including the one shown here, Dyckias native to Brazil, the pineapple and the Puya native to the Andes (newly planted in the backyard to the right of the shade structure). The terrestrial bromeliads need loose soil with organic material to hold water but cactus mix is fine for Dyckias. Full sun to part shade. Striking and dramatic accent plants. 5. Desert Rose, Adenium obesum has a very large caudex at its base to 1ft in diameter and is multi-branched. It has bright red or pink flowers and glossy green leaves. Related to the Pachypodium and Oleander and is native to parts of Africa and Arabia. Water when soil is dry. Not frost tolerant and dormant during winter. Used as a bonsai, wash hands thoroughly before touching eyes after handling. 6. Felt Plant, Kalanchoe beharens is a member of the Kalanchoe family native to southern Madagascar to 5-10ft with velvety green leaves covered in brown hairs. The deeply cut leaves grown in pairs along the stem with new leaves lighter in color. Protect from full summer sun. Part shade. Moderate water, well-drained soil, take care to not over water, protect from frost. 7. Tall Slipper Plant, Pedilanthus bracteatus is a member of the Euphorbia family native to the woodlands of Sonora and Guerrero in Mexico to 6-9ft with leafed branches and reddish bract flowers in Spring. Drought tolerant when established, can be frost tender, well-drained soil. Full sun to part shade. Dramatic addition the garden does well in beds and containers. Attracts hummingbirds. 8. Mexican Sage, Salvia leucantha is hummingbird favorite with beautiful soft and fuzzy purple-blue blooms native to Mexico, to 5ft tall and 6ft wide. Long bloomer in spring/summer, cut back after bloom season for a more compact shape and shear back near to ground in winter to encourage growth. Cold tolerant to 15°. Low water when established. Sun to part shade. 9. Mexican Grass Tree, Dasylirion longissimum is an excellent specimen plant with a grasslike appearance in the Nolina family without teeth, to 6ft. Old foliage may be removed to show a single trunk and the leaves appear to be floating above the trunk. White flowers in summer on long stalk. Moderate grower with full sun. Low water when established, cold tolerant to 15°. continued on reverse Written by Tracy Merrigan 10. Chuparosa, Justicia californica is a perennial native to the deserts of California, Arizona and Mexico. Its common name Chuparosa is colloquial Spanish for hummingbird, normally to 3ft by 4ft wide but can grow much larger with more water. The beaked red flowers in winter and spring attract hummingbirds and other birds. Has semi-succulent leaves and can have orange or yellow flowers., fast draining rocky or sandy soil. Drought and cold tolerant when established, moderate to fast growth. 11. Cape Aloe, Aloe ferox is a tree aloe (also called Bitter Aloe) native to South Africa's Western Cape and is endangered in the wild to 10ft. Used to make bitter aloe medication.Yellow flowers on 2ft high stalks. Sandy-loamy soil with moderate water. Full sun and open area. Beautiful focal plant. 12. Chaste Tree, Vitex agnus-castus is deciduous shrub to small tree to 10-15ft tall and wide and is native to the Mediterranean. Full sun with well-drained soil, moderate water. Beautiful sprays of blue or white flowers in Spring with seed pods to follow. Popular with wildlife and will sow volunteers. Takes to pruning, see it here pruned as a tree. 13. Desert Fern or Feather Bush, Lysiloma watsonii is a small deciduous tree to 20ft and part of the Mimosa family and native to Arizona. Full sun, well drained soil, drought tolerant when established. Cream puff-ball flowers in Spring, seed pods to follow, messy around pools. Can be multi-trunked. 14. Tree Aloe, Aloe bainesii or Aloe barberae is native to South Africa and can grow to 40ft. With dark green curved leaves and pink flowers. Full sun to part afternoon shade, heat resistant, cold hardy to 25°, drought tolerant when established, well-drained soil. Dramatic focal point and great addition poolside or in containers. 15. Common Rue, Ruta graveolens is an herb native to the Balkans to 3ft by 3ft with decorative yellow flowers and bluish leaves. Thrives in heat and dry soil conditions. Used for seasoning in Greek and Ethiopian cooking. 16. Purple Queen, Tradescantia pallida is a spiderwort part of a family of perennials native from Southern Canada to Northern Argentina to 2 ft tall. Purple Queen is a tender perennial and will have a dormant period where it will thin back and look dried out. Great for the northern side of the home or partial shade this plant (full sun non-desert) is a great ground cover or understory plant, pinch back for a fuller plant, stems will root along ground, small pink flowers in spring & summer. Cuttings easily root, moderate water. 17. Pereskia, Pereskia horrida is part of the cactus family native to the dry forests of Peru and grows as a shrub or tree to 20ft. Unlike all other cacti it has leaves and rose-like flowers in red, pink, orange or white. It is not a succulent, keep moister in Summer and drier in Winter. Part shade. Can propagate by cuttings, do not let cuttings dry out. This plant is a stunner. 18. Spicy Jatropha, Jatropha integerrima is an evergreen shrub or tree and part of the Euphorbia family. It is native to Cuba to 15ft and blooms with beautiful red flowers most of the year. Drought and poor soil tolerant, needs to be well-drained though, protect from frost. Full sun to part shade. Takes well to pruning year-round. Hummingbird and butterflies are attracted to this showy tree. Does well in containers. 19. Poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima is a tree to 15ft native to Mexico and Central America with colored bracts that appear when days grow shorter - hence their colorful use as a Christmas plant. Well-drained soil, take care not to over water, afternoon shade. Has been used as a Christmas plant since 16th century Mexico. 20. Madagascar Palm, Pachypodium lamerei is a native to Madagascar to 12ft. Not a palm but a succulent related to the Plumeria. Large white fragrant blooms with narrow leaves at top of trunks.Very frost intolerant, will drop leaves below 40 degrees. Full sun to part shade. Dramatic feature plant. 21. Fig, Ficus carica is the common fig tree native to the Middle East and Western Asia to 30 ft, like the Olive tree it has been cultivated since ancient times and has been widely dispersed throughout temperate climates for food and ornamental purposes. Can be a good shade tree. The Banyan is a fig tree. Fig’s latex is a skin irritant. Well drained soil. 22. Ponytail Palm, Beaucarnea recurvata is a plant of the Asparagaceae family native to Mexico and not closely related to the palm, to 15ft. The caudex at its base is used for storing water. A houseplant for many, it does well in our full sun and is drought tolerant, full sun to part shade. Cold tolerant to 25°. Slow grower. Written by Tracy Merrigan