If you want to make your yard a little more beautiful, choosing the right plants matters. In Colorado’s weather, most standard landscaping plants become high-maintenance, requiring regular watering and mulching just to survive.
However, some plants are perfectly suited to the local environment already. These are five of the best native perennials for Denver, beloved for being low-maintenance and easy to grow. Consider them for groundcover in a new landscape or as accents in your existing garden.
Purple Poppy Mallow (Wine Cups)
Scientific Name: Callirhoe involucrata
Native Range: Western US
Size: 6-12” tall and wide
Light: Full sun
Water: Prefers dry soil, tolerates moderate drought
These small plants have bright red-purple flowers that last for several months and beautiful lobed leaves. While individual plants are small, their trailing habit is lovely in rock gardens and alongside retaining walls.
Creeping Juniper
Scientific Name: Juniperus horizontalis
Native Range: Canada and northern US
Size: 18” high, up to 10’ wide
Light: Full sun
Water: Prefers dry soil, very drought tolerant
These particularly low-growing shrubs are perfect for adding greenery to rocky and dry soils. While it is not ideal for places with lots of foot traffic, it is excellent for slopes, rock gardens, and anywhere you want to prevent soil erosion.
Mat Pentstemon (Mat-Root Beardtongue)
Scientific Name: Penstemon radicosus
Native Range: Western US
Size: 2-5” high, spreading up to 3’ wide
Light: Full sun
Water: Prefers dry, well-drained soil
These beautiful purple flowers have elegant leaves and slender, trailing stems that allow them to spread in their natural rocky environment. They are perfect perennial plants for xeriscapes, especially at high altitudes.
Kinnikinnick
Scientific Name: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Native Range: Western US and Canada
Size: 6-12” high by up to 3’ wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Water: Dry and moderately drought tolerant
This low, hardy evergreen shrub is an excellent option to bring year-round color to your yard. It produces small white flowers in the spring, which develop into beautiful red berries that last until February.
Prairie Verbena (Fernleaf Verbena)
Scientific Name: Glandularia bipinnatifida
Native Range: North American prairies
Size: 6-12” tall by up to 3’ wide, self-sowing
Light: Full sun
Water: Well-drained soil, drought tolerant
This prairie plant has unique foliage and comes in various colors, from white to pink to purple. It provides interest and color all summer long in rock gardens and other xeriscapes.
Make Your Yard Pop With Hall Landscape Contractors
Whether you want to refresh your current landscaping or start over from scratch, the experts at Hall Landscape Contractors can help. We have years of experience designing and installing beautiful landscapes for homeowners around the Denver area. We can recommend Colorado native plants perfectly suited to your yard and preferences, so you can spend more time enjoying your yard and less time working on it. Learn more about how we can help by speaking to our team today.