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Best Plants / Flowers for a Garden with Lots of Sunshine? ?

I just moved to Guadalajara, Mexico and the house I'm renting has two nice little garden areas in the front. This area of Mexico has a very nice, temperate climate where it isn't very humid (we're very high in elevation), it is sunny most every day of the year and the weather generally stays within 80 F Degrees as a high and 40 F degrees as a low. We pretty much just have a wet and dry season. You could say it is a gardeners dream, but there isn't much space for gardening. Anyway, the house faces west and the two little patches of garden are right in front, so the garden is going to get pretty hot and a LOT of sunshine. I already plan on planting a lot of roses (the city's nickname is 'the city of roses' after all), but what other flowers or plants are the best for a garden that gets a lot of sun? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. cacti, you cant go wrong, and some have the most amazing flowers, but , they may take a little time to flower. i llive in sydney, australia, and its hot in summer here, like right now, i collect cactus, never had a problem with it. you dont have to water it every day, you can actually forget about it for awhile, and it still grows. hope this helps, i am a very busy person, so this is the best type of plant for me,.lol
2. Plants for Sun Generally when we think of putting plants in the wrong location, we think of placing shade-loving plants in full sunlight where they can literally burn to death. Putting sun-loving plants in the shade can be just as damaging. The cells of sun loving plants are generally smaller, which gives them the ability to retain water and withstand strong sunlight. In the shade, these plants will slowly die because they do not receive sufficient sunlight to manufacture food properly. The sunniest areas on properties generally have eastern, southern or western exposures. Annuals which need strong sunlight include marigolds, petunias and snapdragons. Marigolds are known for their yellow, orange and russet hues and grow from six to 30 inches tall depending upon the variety. Petunias come in almost every color and can grow to upwards of a foot high. Some varieties are trailing in nature and work well in planters, as well as the new mat-forming ground cover types. Dwarf snapdragons only grow eight to 12 inches high, but the standard snapdragons can reach two and a half feet high, and make excellent cut flowers. Many perennials need strong sunlight for maximum growth. Those that do particularly well in strong light include daisies, day lilies and irises. Daisies can grow from 12 to 30 inches high and bloom from the middle of spring to fall, depending upon variety. Day lilies bloom from early summer to fall and grow from one to four feet high, depending on the variety you choose to get a sequence of bloom. Irises bloom just after the snow melts through early summer and are known for wide varieties of color. They can grow from six to eight inches high up to two and a half feet tall. Euonymus and ivy are two evergreen groundcovers that keep their color all year long and do well in sunny areas, as well as in shade. Ivy is known for its trailing or climbing capabilities and dark green foliage. One variety of the euonymus is the 'Purple Winter Creeper', which turns burgundy after the first freeze in the fall. Plumbago is another sun loving groundcover with beautiful blue flowers in mid-summer, which turns purple in the fall. However, it does lose its foliage in the winter. Most evergreens need full sun except for taxus, or yews, which can also tolerate considerable shade. Pines, spruces, junipers and arborvitae are the most popular. The false cypress is fast growing in popularity and is known for its golden leaf varieties. Most grass for the lawn and ornamental grasses need full sun, as do flowering crabapple trees. For sunny areas, consider these plants, and many more, which can grow to their maximum height and beauty under sunny conditions. http://www.myhouseandgarden.com/garden/plants_for_August.htm http://plantsbulbs.suite101.com/article.cfm/summer_blooming_perennial_plants http://landscaping.about.com/od/plantsforsunnydryareas/a/full_sun_plants.htm
3. There are many more plants that do well in full sun than just cacti. The zone you are in will make a difference. There is a nursery called High Country Gardens, that while they may not be able to ship to you, will give you lots of ideas. They specialize in xeric plants, plants that require very little water. Another thing you may look into is a greywater system. Greywater is the household water that comes from the shower/bath, and laundry. It does not include excrement water or sewage. You may also want to set up a rainwater collection system. In an area with little rainfall, it will help greatly in watering your plants. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/ http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/
4. Here's a site of plants where I did a search for sun loving plants http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=advsearchresults&SearchText=p16.v226;p4.v7&scChannel=Seeds%20AS