Common name:Common Sunflower
Botanical name:Helianthus annuus

Sunflowers are vigorous, erect, plants with large, daisy-like flowers with central discs. Colors are from pale yellow and cream to rustic terra cotta and browns. The plants range from dwarfs only 12 inches tall to giants that can reach 10 to 12 feet. Fabulous cut flowers; edible seeds; and highly attractive to birds.

Common name:Apache Plume
Botanical name:Fallugia paradoxa

Native to cool desert areas, Apache Plume is well suited to dry urban gardens. White flowers, reminiscent of simple, single roses, appear June through August, and are followed by seed heads nearly as interesting as the flowers. Small, olive green, lobed leaves line branches that are twiggy and have whitish, shreddy bark. Fast growing, it will grow to 5 feet tall and nearly as wide. Though water needs are low, it will bloom more with periodic summer irrigation. A Utah native.

Common name:Fourwing Saltbush
Botanical name:Atriplex canescens

Fourwing Saltbush, a tough Utah native, is a 4 to 6 foot tall and wide evergreen shrub with a rounded, though a bit irregular, habit. Its leaves are narrowly oblong, spoon-shaped, and whitish to silvery grey. The flowers are inconspicuous, but are followed by interesting, four-winged tan bracts that are persistent, and incidentally, are great in dried arrangements. Bark is greyish brown and exfoliating. There is a great deal of variability between plants, and so its best use is probably in a naturally styled landscape, and as winter forage in a wildlife landscape.

Common name:Big Sagebrush
Botanical name:Artemisia tridentata

Big sagebrush is a Utah native and lives up to its name, growing anywhere from a few to 12 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide (the variability is a result of seed source, available water, soil conditions, and other factors that affect growth). It is densed branched with fine textured, silver- to blue-green, aromatic foliage. Inconspicuous yellow flowers appear July through november. The bark is brown, twisted, and scaly. This may not be the ideal sagebrush for a traditional landscape, but it would work well in a naturally-styled setting. Very aromatic.

Common name:Rubber Rabbitbrush
Botanical name:Chrysothamnus nauseosus

Rubber rabittbrush is a Utah native, known for its chrome-yellow autumn flowers and strikingly white stems. This plant will reach a mature size of about 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. Fall flowers are chrome-yellow and cover the entire plant. Foliage is long, narrow, grey-green, and slightly hairy, giving it a whitish cast. It is semi-deciduous, and will hold its foliage well into the autumn and early winter. A great shrub for a hot, dry site.