They're just the pits when it comes to root problems, water consumption, susceptibility to disease, and insect problems. Swartzell says that instead of looking to the areas where they lived before moving to Southern Nevada for landscaping ideas, Las Vegas gardeners should look to one of the desert models - either our own Mojave Desert, or the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, or Australian Deserts. He suggests that from the Mojave, they might pick a creosote bush or a barrel, beavertail, or hedgehog cactus. If the Sonoran Desert is their model, they might choose an ocotillo or a teddybear cactus. The Chihuahuan Desert offers such ideas as the yucca, some native grasses, or the Texas sage.
Native grasses fit into the landscape very well and are low maintenance.
And many of them can be quite colorful. We're kind of excited about grasses, which seem to be the new trend in water-efficient landscaping. They add that soft touch. Flora from the Australian desert can add variety to a yard as well, but Swartzell warns against relying too heavily on trees or plants such as eucalyptus and cassia. Australian species had become quite popular in Las Vegas until one winter when many were lost in a freeze.