A well-planned arrangement of native plants results in a landscape that wows year-round.

For as long as she can remember, Phoenix resident Anne O’Brien has loved to garden. Growing up in southern Ohio, she was surrounded by farms and family plots filled with flowers and vegetables. When she moved to Arizona in 1965, a love of desert flora turned into a passion. Several years ago, she and her husband, Rich, bought a house in east Phoenix. Its main attraction was the big backyard. Equal in size to the 2,100-square-foot abode, the rectangular-shaped space, which at the time consisted mostly of a pool and paving, was a blank canvas to create whatever she chose. “I wanted something really unique with a plant palette that echoed the Valley’s four seasons,” she says.

Anne collaborated with landscape architect Mary Estes on a design that would change the face of the yard. After removing the pool and hardscape, Estes used steel retaining curbs to create elevation changes and define distinct planting spaces, including a raised garden that represents the desert and a sunken area reminiscent of Arizona’s wetlands. “The landscape honors the fact that there is a lot of open space in the desert, nature’s way of supporting only the strongest plants when there’s not a lot of water. The yard has voids that reflect that open space,” Anne notes.

No matter the time of year, the landscape offers something of interest. “Anne is a gardener, so she enjoys getting her hands dirty and experimenting with plants,” Estes explains. “We concentrated on flora that flourishes in the extreme native heat and blooms in fall, winter and spring, as those are the seasons when you want to be outside.”

We take a look at Anne’s ever-changing greenscape and find out what plants thrive in each season.

SPRING

This is probably the most prolific season, when just about everything is in bloom. The palo verde is covered with yellow blossoms, and ‘Firecracker’ penstemon are very showy early in spring (and also in late fall). Two kinds of hesperaloe, funifera (giant) and parviflora (medium-sized), produce flowering stalks this time of year and stick around most of the summer.

SUMMER

Summer is a surprisingly active time in Anne’s garden. ‘Sierra Starr’ red fairy duster, which attracts pollinators, especially bees, blooms nearly year-round, although it looks best in late spring and summer. ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’ coral fountain plant draws pollinators as well, with its orange-red blooms. Chuparosa, yellow bird of paradise and bougainvillea thrive in the heat, while ‘Outback Sunrise’ emu bush provides an attractive groundcover, even when its yellow blossoms are taking a break. The yellow orchid vine, which climbs up the ramada, flowers most of the year, later producing light-green butterfly-shaped papery seed pods that turn brown against the dark-green leaves. Desert marigold thrives in the hottest days of summer, and ‘Desert Diva’ desert willow tree bears wine-colored blooms.

FALL

Pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Regal Mist’) is the star of the garden. As summer fades into the short autumn season, the dense tufts produce billows of pink seed heads that turn the plant into a dramatic focal point. By early November, the color will have gone nearly purple before turning pale. When the muhly grass is cut back into small attractive haystacks in February, the hesperaloe growing behind it suddenly appears, sending up its own stalks and blooms.

WINTER

In winter, the garden is replete with an amazing variety of greens, grays and blues, especially in the agaves. Fountainlike green sotol grass contrasts with clouds of whitish muhlenbergia that lies like a fog as it winds down its blooming. The leafless desert willow emulates the bare branches seen this time of year throughout the Midwest. Cherry blossom euphorbia (Euphorbia xanti) produces tiny white flowers that turn pink when it’s cold but go back to white when the sun shines on them. Potted annuals add color and variety to the landscape.

Visions of Verdure

Homeowner Anne O’Brien enjoys year-round evergreen color from such background plants as Agave desmettiana, A. ovatifolia, A. parryi var. truncata, green hopseed, hesperaloe, ‘Outback Sunrise’ emu, toothless sotol and totem pole cacti. “Consistent shades of green around the perimeter of the property, which includes a synthetic putting green, make the seasonal color stand out and enhances the forms of the sculptural plants, foliage colors and textures,” says Estes. Here are some additional offerings that can be found in the garden and their blooming periods.

• Spring: Foothills palo verde, palo blanco, ‘Firecracker’ penstemon
• Spring into summer: Side-oats gramma grass, rosemary
• Spring through summer: ‘Desert Diva’ desert willow, yellow orchid vine
• Spring through fall: Gaura lindheimeri ‘Siskiyou pink’
• Spring into fall: Bougainvillea, chuparosa, ‘Desert Flamenco’ red yucca, desert marigold, ‘Sierra Star’ fairy duster, ‘St. Elmo’s’ firecracker plant
• Summer: Hesperaloe funifera, H. parviflora, palo blanco trees (for its papery bark)
• Fall: ‘Firecracker’ penstemon
• Winter: ‘Sierra Star’ red fairy duster (seedpods), yellow orchid vine (seed heads)
• Year-Round: Mexican bird of paradise