If you had your garden to do over again...

It can work perfectly if we behave and don't find more plants for the area and mess up the plants. I don't know why we feel every nook and cranny has to be filled. I, for one, don't mind the sight of nice mulch while plants are growing.

I am an impatient person and have too many different plants on my wish list.
I just keep finding places for them. I have to pull back tho because there are blanks in the garden now where plants only look like they died. Newbies that are making roots for next year hopefully.
I referr to columbines.

For me I think the crowding starts in the spring there LOOKS like space and in goes a plant , then at the end of the season it is way too packed.
Example I see space.

space gone

garden in ciaos.

They are the gardening facts of life.

Hi Pirl,
sorry to chime in so late! Since I live in Arizona, I should have planted trees first. I was new to the area(translocated from MN) I did not understand the intensity of the AZ sun and the reflected heat the plants get from hardscapes.
Someday it will happen.

hard scapes are nice

Just my personal opinion here, lovetropics, but I feel most plants appreciate a break from the hottest sun of the day. I do!

Hardscaping can add so much to a property but done wrong it's misery. People often go to extremes instead of keeping it simple.

I am with you Pirl. I think hardscape is harsh to the eye.
I have minimal here. I have a pool with kool deck which is being covered with ground cover rosemary. That had softened the look.
Masonary walls around the property add reflected heat. Also the ground is covered with cracked granite as the mulch. That mulch has it's positives--keeps weeds away and does not need to be replaced (money saving). But it's negative is it does reflect heat.

Its hard to blend a house into a desert setting.

yes ge1836. Most houses here use deserty colors/natural materials such as stone/slate..etc to blend in. Ofcourse my house is green--natural paloverde tree color green. As the trees are maturing, it is blending in.

Having blue stone, marble, concrete or brick benches is not an invitation to sit for long. I couldn't take it at all with sciatica.

Its a whole different world in Arizona

I have lived in MO, NY, MN, FL, India. I get my fix when I visit HI and CA regularly. I am now appreciating the beauty that the desert brings in keeping in mind that my garden looks like a tropical jungle'ish. I will post pictures one of these days.
AZ has most species of hummingbirds in the country. I have read some where that desert hosts more species of wildlife than tropical rainforest. Currently my garden is teaming with butterflies/hummers/dragonflies/birds/bees/lots of species of lizards...etc. I am just amazed that this is happening in a desert!
Before I moved to AZ, I did not give much credit to the desert(moved for work related reasons). One visit to the botanical gardens helped me change my mind. I did not realize that cacti can have beautiful and very colorful blossoms. I don't go cacti because I don't like thorns.

I have visited Az. and I think anyone going to the desert has to visit a botanical garden it will definitely change your concept of a desert.

I was in Scottsdale about 10 years ago. I remember being amazed at th number of hummers buzzing all over. I have one that shows up here every summer. Just one :(

that's funny venu209. I have a secret spot in my garden where I sit and read. Turk's cap hibiscus is there. Hummers zoom right by my face to those flowers. I realized that they are not scared of humans unlike lots of other birds(Quails are the worst. They leave as soon as I enter my garden).

DH had a hummer visit his ear one day. LOL! He was snoozing and I guess his ear looked inviting.

LOL! May be his ear was red!! They are attracted to tubular structures and things that look red.
I have had near misses to my ear. Perhaps it is because I am brown(indian that is).

Hi Deanna,
Lantana camara to means that it is a shrub type. Unfortunately does not tell me which variety it is. Perhaps taking stem cuttings in addition to seeds may be of additional help. Please take a look at this site for info.
http://www.floridata.com/ref/L/lant_c.cfm