196 
GARDENING IN THE SOUTHWEST 
Semi-Arid 
Plants 
Flowers 
Are Blue- 
Lavender 
Laburnum and Kolkwitzia (Beauty Bush)"* which are not na¬ 
tive to our region, grow well, though probably are not as drought- 
resistant, may also be propagated in the same manner. 
Should one wish to keep these plants of shrub height, their habit 
of growth from the beginning should be encouraged to widen, 
rather than prune for upward tendencies. The Sophora, especially, 
sends several shoots from the original seed. None of these need be 
pinched off, for all will become stout branches. Like the Pussy- 
Willow and Pyrus japonica (Burning Bush), the Red Bud can be 
forced to bloom indoors. So the removal of the superfluous 
branches on the shrubs should be made as soon as the buds begin 
to swell. Place in water and the heat of the house will cause the 
flowers to open much sooner than those out in the open. 
With this wide choice of shrubs for screens and hedges, a varied 
background is amply provided. Against this, the blue Plum¬ 
bago capensis, the dainty Sea-lavender (Statice Latifolia) with the 
deep blue Platycodon bells, combine delightfully with Coreopsis, 
Apache Plume, Snow-on-the-Mountain, Monarda, Jimson-weed 
(Datura), and the large white prickly poppy (Mexican Argemone 
alba), this latter forming an unusually attractive low hedge with 
its spiney leaves and large white flowers. 
All these thrive lustily, for they are natives. The fluffy 
tufts of blue Ageratum, the blue spikes of Veronica, the 
light violet-blue flowers of Nigella and the 
hardy Fall Asters, many of which are native, 
carry the blue-lavender tones into the late Fall, 
blending with the lovely pinky 
tones of the bush Morning 
Glories. 
Gaillardias (Indian Blanket), 
and Rudbeckias (native with 
daisy-like flowers), Thunbergia 
(Black-eyed Susan), Helenium, 
Arctores (African Daisy), An- 
themis (Marguerites), and both 
the English and the Shasta 
* Neither of these is advised for the Dry Garden. 
