 A bright, colorful garden set within high-desert surroundings – what a joy to behold! The vast array of vibrantly colored trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and groundcover that flourish here in northern Nevada allow gardeners endless choices for creative landscaping expression.There's enough variety in the Nevada color palette to satisfy every desire. “Much of what you choose for your garden will be determined by how much of a maintenance level you want,” Ron Gustafson, horticulturist and landscaping consultant for G & G Nursery in Sparks, explains. “Trees, shrubs and ground-cover take less maintenance than perennials or annuals. It’s really up to you, the gardener, to determine how much time you are going to want to spend in your garden.”
But he does have a few favorites for gardeners seeking color. Don't overlook trees and shrubs, he says. They can offer color year-round. “For trees, flowering crabapple and cherry trees offer beautiful, colorful blossoms in the spring season. Japanese maples give red and purple all summer, orange to deep red in the fall. Norway, Flame or Trident maples give brilliant red,” says Gustafson. For shrubs, Lilac, Forsythia and Flowering Almond bloom in the spring, followed by Honeysuckle and Burning Bush, which bloom into the mid- to late-summer. Potentilla blooms all summer long with yellow or white blossoms. For fall, sumac varieties offer fire-red color. Pyracantha displays white blossoms with orange berries throughout winter. Red and Yellow Dogwood produces a white bloom with red and yellow stem that shows up vibrantly in the snow.
If you’re planting along a fence, try vines. Wisteria, Clematis and Honeysuckle bloom in spring. Silver Lace blooms in late summer and offers white frothy, cloudlike flowers. The Trumpet vine blooms in the summer with a coral to a bright orange flower, then a fall color of yellow-green.
Perennials and annuals bloom in early spring. Annuals live one year and give constant bloom until the first frost in the fall. “Bulbs bloom early and will last for years,” says Gustafson. “Use bulbs throughout the life of your garden.” Plant the smaller plants such as perennials or annuals in mass, suggests Gustafson. “Ten to twelve red perennials or annuals planted close together make a striking effect.”
When designing your garden’s layout, it’s always a good idea to plant the smaller plants, such as perennials and annuals, in the front of your garden, medium-sized shrubs in the middle and larger shrubs and trees in the very back. If you are planting along a fence, leave room for your vines to show off their blooms away from larger shrubs or trees.
Consider which plants will bloom during which season and space them throughout so that something is in bloom in every section of your garden throughout each season. Combine the shrubs, trees, vines and bulbs with perennials and annuals for your own unique, colorful garden.
Susan M. Botich is a Minden-based
freelance writer.  Garden design for year-round color
Ron Gustafson, horticulturist and landscape consultant for G&G Nurseries of Sparks,
shares interesting possibilities in a design sure to give you color and garden interest all
year long – for a south-facing, full-sun garden.
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