If you garden on rapidly-draining sandy soil or on a hillside, you can save yourself a lot of time, money and effort by installing drought-tolerant plants. With thirstless plants, you can create a garden that relies solely on the rainfall provided by nature. It's the perfect solution when irrigation isn't an option.
Plants with grayish foliage--such as Russian sage and dusty miller--have a natural reflective quality that allows them to survive in low-moisture, high-heat situations. And gray plants aren't your only options. Brian Holly of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario, shares his list of drought-tolerant plants:
Allium, like most tuberous or bulbous plants, tend to be drought-tolerant.
Yarrow (Achillea)--here, 'Paprika'--can be planted almost anywhere, including full sun.
Cardoon provides a bold, structural effect.
The underside of lavender's leaves are gray, underscoring this plant's tolerance to drought.
Potentilla withstands dry conditions well. Soft colors such as this 'Miss Willmott' are becoming more available.
The leaves of euphorbia are thick and store water well.
In spring, the foliage of Lychnis (here, 'Vesuvius') is dark bronze, giving this plant an extended period of interest.
This penstemon blooms from summer to frost.
Hawkweed (Hieracium villosum) has a long period of bloom as well as beautiful, hairy foliage.
Kansas gayflower (Gaura lindheimeri) combines beautifully with ornamental grasses. It blooms throughout summer until frost.
Flax (Linum flavum), a perennial form, blooms for about five to six weeks in summer.
Butterfly weeds (Asclepias tuberosa--here, 'Gay Butterflies'), bear their flower clusters along and atop the stalks.
Fairies' thimbles (Campanula cochleariifolia) may look like a delicate plant but it's alpine and consequently will tolerate a fair amount of drought.
And there's more: Coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) tolerates dry situations. (Moonbeam' offers a much softer yellow than the species.) Most ornamental grasses are also drought tolerant.
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