Common name:Hummingbird Trumpet; Fire Chalice
Botanical name:Zauschneria latifolia

Eye-catching as red lipstick, little red-orange trumpets stand out from leafy stems, creating a lovely sphere of color that lasts from mid-summer to frost. Native to droughty, rocky places at higher elevations, it also makes its home along waterways, indicating that a little additional water will be appreciated and used to extend the flowering season. Fire Chalice will form a slightly woody perennial base then die back to the ground with the coming of the first hard frosts. Grows 12 to 18 inches tall and about 24 to 36 inches wide.

Common name:Soapweed
Botanical name:Yucca glauca

This clumping evergreen yucca has narrow leaves and a startling, 3- to 4 foot tall flower stalk. The fragrant flowers are pale green or greenish white. It is a tenacious weed in areas of the American West, but adds a touch of the desert to gardens. Soap can be made from its roots and the foliage is used in basket-making.