Common name:Blue Spire Russian Sage
Botanical name:Perovskia 'Blue Spire'

'Blue Spire' is a selection of perovskia that grows about 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide (though it will grow larger if over-watered). New wood is white and fuzzy; leaves are a soft green to grey-green and finely cut, giving it an airy appearance. Flower spires of fuzzy, lavender blue flowers begin in June and continue through the summer months. Useful in the perennial or shrub border, with ornamental grasses, and as a cut flower.

Common name:Gaura
Botanical name:Gaura lindheimeri

Gaura is a lovely addition to a perennial border, with its fine green foliage and delicate white to pink flowers. The plant has an open vase shape, and grows about 36 inches tall and 24 to 36 inches wide. Leaves are fine, green, and sometimes spotted with maroon. Flowers are arrayed on long stems and are reminiscent of butterflies; the blooms open from the bottom of the stems towards the top, over a long season of bloom (early summer to fall). Its airy quality creates movement in the garden. Combines well with other perennials and ornamental grasses. A number of named cultivars are now available, some with more distinctively pink flowers or variegated foliage.

Common name:Desert Willow; Desert Catalpa
Botanical name:Chilopsis linearis

Desert Willow is a small, deciduous tree with shrubby inclinations. It grows about 15 to 25 feet tall and nearly as wide, with an open, though twiggy appearance. New bark is green, becoming brown and shaggy as it ages. Leaves are fine-textured, long and narrow, and willow-like. Remarkable, orchid-like flowers of white and pink appear in late spring and continue, to a lesser extent, all summer. It can be pruned as a multi-stemmed, low canopied tree or left more shrubby. There is a specimen at the Greater Avenues Water Conservation Demonstration Garden.

Common name:Colorado Spruce
Botanical name:Picea pungens

Colorado Spruce is an upright to pyramidal evergreen tree with a dense form and horizontal branches. It grows slowly, 60 to 80 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide. Its color is variable, ranging from sky blue to green. s to 100' tall. It has a wide-spreading, moderately deep root system if not overwaterred. A Utah native.

Common name:Butterfly Bush
Botanical name:Buddleja davidii

Butterfly bush are an attractive summer blooming shrub, well suited for the shrub or perennial border. Varieties range from 3 to 12 feet tall; dwarf forms are as wide as they are tall, and taller forms have widths generally half to 2/3 the height. Shrubs are mounding to upright and arching. Leaves grey green to silver. Fragrant flowers are spire-like and appear in mid to late summer. Colors range through the pinks and violets, and also white, yellow, and deep purples. Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees; deer resistent.

Common name:Indian Summer Gloriosa Daisy
Botanical name:Rudbeckia hirta 'Indian Summer'

Indian Summer is a selection of gloriosa daisy with a pallet range of soft oranges to rusty browns. They typically grow 12 to 16 inches tall and wide. Blooms appear most of the summer months; deadheading will prolong the bloom. Though technically perennial, they seem to be shorter lived than other rudbeckia, and so are sometimes treated as annuals.

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.