Create a beautiful dry garden

A drought-tolerant garden does not have to be dull and colorless. So says Maureen Gilmer in her book “The Colorful Dry Garden” (Sasquatch Books), which offers guidelines for transitioning yards to an “arid palette” of color. Chitalpa trees, which produce curly white, purple-striped blossoms, are a staple in the Las Vegas Valley. Fairy dusters, perennial shrubs, bloom with puffy pink or red flowers throughout the warm months. The trumpet-shaped, clustered flowers of the Tecoma stans tree bloom late spring through the winter holiday season. The rosy-pink blossoms of the Idahoensis tree are able to withstand summer temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. Desert marigolds blend well into landscapes, especially when planted among rocks. The tube-shaped blooms of firecracker plants tend to attract hummingbirds.