The Southwest winter landscape doesn’t just have to be filled with various tones of brown and green. There are many beautiful flowers that can bloom throughout the milder months in our region. Here are some of our favorite shrubs that bloom all year long, including in winter, and how you can incorporate them into your garden.

Winter Blaze™ Emu Bush

Eremophila glabra ssp. carnosa cv., Zones 9–11

This highly drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub has showy, red, tubular flowers that bloom year-round. Hummingbirds in the neighborhood will flock to your yard to enjoy the nectar. This shrub can grow to 4 feet tall and wide. It prefers full sun and is a fast grower. If yours is getting a bit too large for its space, you can cut it back in late spring. Another emu bush we love is Blue Bells™ (Eremophila hygrophana cv., Zones 9–11), which has silver foliage and purple flowers. At 3 feet tall and wide, this variety is a bit smaller than Winter Blaze™. But like Winter Blaze™, it’s a year-round bloomer that loves full sun, has low water needs, and adds some serious impact to any garden or landscape.

Orange Shrimp Plant

Justicia fulvicoma, Zones 8–11

Orange shrimp plant is a compact grower that stays around 24 inches high, unlike red shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeeana, Zones 9–11), which tends to grow to 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. These plants produce bracts that look similar to shrimp. Orange shrimp plant is a small shrub that will bloom year-round in full sun or partial shade. Beyond this shrub’s obvious visual interest, it also attracts pollinators, which is always a welcome addition to any garden. We love to plant it as a focal point. Find a great location, because it’s a conversation starter.

Cape Plumbago

Plumbago auriculata, Zones 8–11

One thing that makes cape plumbago quite unique in the desert are its flowers of light blue, a color that is quite hard to come by in the Southwest. This hardy shrub features its flowers in large masses. Although it can take full sun, it prefers partial sun or shade. This fast grower can take on different growing habits. Many use it as a shrub, while others let it climb a trellis, sprawl as a ground cover, or trail over the edges of a container. An established cape plumbago is drought tolerant, but be cautious if the temperatures dip below freezing. You will want to protect it with a frost cloth or take it indoors if it’s in a container.

Life doesn’t get much better than sitting outside on a beautiful day, smelling the sweet fragrance of flowers, and enjoying their vibrant colors. Visit your local nursery, and get creative with your garden. Be sure to add some color during the winter months here in the Southwest. Good luck, gardeners!

—Sheila Schultz and Laurel Startzel are a mother-daughter duo who founded Denver Dirty Girls Container Gardening while living in Denver and have continued their business since moving to Tucson, Arizona.

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Lightweight and Breathable MATERIAL Good for protecting Plant: the plant frost cover material is 0.74 oz/sq non-woven polypropylene fabric, which is lightweight, breathable, and durable. The plant blanket frost protection allows sunlight reach the plants, perfect for protecting plants from the damage of freeze or frost. Wide Application In your Garden Work. The plant row cover not only can work as a barrier against frost, but also can be a great tool for germination and good for rapid seedling growth. By using the fabric plant covers over your plant, you can start the plant earlier in the spring and extending the growing season of your plants. How to Use the Plant Covers: you can cover the plant covers for freeze over your the plants loosely directly and then secure the plant frost blanket with soil, stones or staples. You can also support the floating row covers with a hoop, make enough room for plants to breath and grow. You could also cut the plant covers into different sizes for different purposes.

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With a built-in 7.2-volt lithium-ion battery, this little guy weighs less than 2 lb. and can zip through all your minor pruning tasks quickly and easily.
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