New Mexican Privet or Desert Olive (Forestiera pubescens) is a fast‑growing, deciduous shrub or small tree perfect for Utah landscapes. In early spring it produces delicate yellow‑white flowers on bare stems that provide essential nectar for bees, followed on female plants by clusters of dark blue‑black drupes beloved by songbirds in summer. The fine gray‑green foliage turns brilliant yellow each fall, and the pale, twisting bark and multi‑stemmed form provide year‑round interest, especially in winter. New Mexican Privet adapts to a wide range of soils including alkaline, sandy, or clay soils typical of the Intermountain region and, once established, this species is exceedingly drought‑tolerant and deer-resistant. Use New Mexican Privet in it's natural form for wildlife cover or trimmed into dense screens, living fences, or informal hedges, or prune to accentuate it's vase-shape and use as a focal point in dry garden beds and borders, rock gardens, and Mediterranean style plantings. 
Photo Credit: Keith Williamson