When designing a garden or landscape, native plants offer a beautiful and sustainable solution. Incorporating native landscaping practices into your Salt Lake City backyard not only enhances the visual appeal of your outdoor space but also supports local ecosystems, conserves water, and reduces maintenance. In this guide, we’ll explore the best native plants for Salt Lake City gardens, their benefits, and why incorporating them is essential for any landscape!

The Benefits of Native Landscaping in Salt Lake City

Here’s why you should be growing native plants in your Utah landscape this summer:

Adaptability and Resilience:

Native plants are naturally adapted to our local climate and soil conditions, making them more resilient to drought, pests, and diseases. These adaptations also reduce the need for water, fertilizers, and pesticides, ensuring a healthy and thriving garden with minimal effort.

Water Conservation:

Native plants are typically drought-resistant and water-wise, thriving on natural rainfall. Using these plants can significantly reduce your garden’s annual water usage. 

Support for Local Wildlife:

Native plants provide essential resources for local wildlife and birds, including pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. These plants have co-evolved with local fauna, offering the necessary nectar, pollen, and shelter they need to survive and thrive. For example, California quail enjoy food from Oaks and Manzanita as well as shelter from rabbitbush.

Low Maintenance:

Once established, native plants require less maintenance than non-native species due to their natural resistance to local pests and diseases, reducing the need for chemical interventions and ongoing care.

Best Native Plants for Salt Lake City Landscapes

For a striking and sustainable native garden, try these versatile beauties:

Perennials:

Penstemon: There are over 70 native species of Penstemon in Utah, with various colors including red, pink and blue. These tall blooms add striking beauty to any garden design. Firecracker Penstemon,known for its red, tubular flowers, attracts hummingbirds and blooms in early summer. Wasatch Penstemon is a beautiful blue, and Pineleaf Penstemon is a groundcover in red, orange, & yellow.

Utah Agave: This succulent adds stunning architectural interest and requires minimal water and maintenance.

Columbine: Native to higher elevations in the Rocky Mountain West, this flower attracts hummingbirds and blooms for 4-6 weeks in spring to early summer.

Globemallow: This shrubby perennial touts numerous large orange flowers on wand-like clusters. The leaves offer a woolly gray foliage, adding interest in your yard.

Grasses:

Blue Grama: A hardy grass that requires minimal water and adds a natural prairie look to your landscape. ‘Blonde Ambition’ is a popular cultivar in Salt Lake City.

Indian Ricegrass: This attractive grass adds texture to your garden and provides seeds that are a favorite food source for local wildlife.

Big Blue Stem: This 2-5’ tall grass is a great native substitute for Miscanthus. ‘Blackhawks’ has dark burgundy foliage.

Shrubs and Bushes:

Curl-Leaf Mountain Mahogany: This evergreen shrub is highly drought-tolerant and provides year-round structure to gardens.

Rabbitbrush: With bright yellow flowers in late summer, this shrub is excellent for attracting pollinators.

Fourwing Saltbush: This versatile shrub thrives in the salty, alkaline soils that are typical of our region and adds interesting texture to your landscape with its showy seed clusters.

Manzanita: A medium sized, dense evergreen shrub with egg-shaped shiny leaves with a somewhat spreading habit.

Big Sagebrush: Known for its silvery-gray foliage and aromatic leaves, this iconic shrub is both drought-tolerant and low-maintenance.

Trees:

Utah Serviceberry: This small tree offers beautiful white spring flowers, edible berries, and vibrant fall colors.

Gambel Oak: A drought-tolerant oak that adds a natural woodland feel to landscapes and provides habitat and food for our local wildlife. Can be used to make communities of small trees.

Chitalpa: This tree is a unique cross between two native trees – a Catalpa and a Chilopsis (Desert Willow). It has showy blooms with large broadleaf leaves.

Rocky Mountain Juniper: This evergreen tree is highly drought-resistant and offers year-round interest with its blue-green foliage and berry-like cones.

Designing a Native Plant Garden

Picked up your plants but stuck on design? Try these expert tips to make your native plants work in any landscape:

Assess Your Space: 

Understanding the specific conditions of your garden—including soil type, sunlight, and existing vegetation—will help you choose the most suitable native plants for your landscape

Plan for Year-Round Interest:

Select a mix of plants that bloom at different times of the year and combine perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees to create a dynamic landscape that offers visual interest throughout the seasons.

Create Microclimates:

Use rocks, mulch, and berms (mounded areas) to create different microclimates within your garden. This unique approach allows you to mimic natural habitats and support a diverse range of plants.

Group Plants by Water Needs:

Even among native plants, water requirements can vary. Grouping plants with similar water needs together helps you water more efficiently, leading to reduced water use, lower maintenance costs, enhanced biodiversity, and improved resilience against local pests and diseases. This is called hydrozoning.

Incorporating native plants into your Salt Lake City landscape is a smart choice that blends beauty with sustainability. By choosing species that are adapted to our local environment, you can create a garden that thrives with minimal intervention, supports local wildlife, and conserves valuable resources. Whether you are an experienced gardener or just starting, native landscaping in Salt Lake City offers a rewarding way to connect with the natural beauty of Utah.

Need more advice? Come see us today at Millcreek Gardens to get your native garden growing now!