This penstemon grows in well drained gravel soil. There are five different penstemons that grow in this area. They were very attractive during the summer of 2008 because of the higher than normal snow fall the previous winter. There were more populations of this penstemon than any of the other five. It does well in the landscape, but is somewhat short lived. In my garden it has reseeded itself. It grows upto two feet high and about 18 inches wide. Butterflies and humming birds love it.
This mallow is only about eight inches tall. There are some colonies of plants that are quite large. A single plant looks pretty lonely. They are very drought tolerant and usually are the first mallows to bloom in the spring. The smaller picture is a close-up.
The Monroe Globe Mallow blooms in the Spring. This grows mostly just below the juniper/pinion area. During a wet spring large plantings are visible. There are some that are only 8 to 10 inches tall and some grow to 30 inches tall. They will do well in a landscape with a monthly watering. They will bloom again if they are cut down. I have seen them grazed in the western Utah desert They are easily reseeded. I have some in my desert landscape and I thin the some each year. There is not enough water from the sky if they grow to thick.
The Rough Mules ear grows in the south east quarter of the state of Utah. It has these beautiful yellow flowers. These photos were taken in Arches National Monument near Moab, Utah. Another one of the plants that grow without much rain fall. These were growing in sandy soil. There are nearly 4,000 different native plants and trees in Utah.
This is called the Sulfur Buckwheat. The Latin name for it is Eriogonum umbellatum. It is a striking flower in the late spring. There are large populations that turns a whole hillside yellow. the plant is fairly short, but the flower spikes may get twelve inches tall. In the garden and in the desert it grows with only the water that falls from the sky. In my area that may be 10-20 inches of annual rainfall.
