Plants for drought-prone gardens pink and white flowering

Plenty of plants thrive in drought prone areas, so it's possible to create a full and attractive border even in these sometimes challenging conditions

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Fleshy Hylotelephium and many grasses are drought tolerant
Fleshy Hylotelephium and many grasses are drought tolerant

Quick facts

  • Drought conditions can means plants struggle to take up moisture
  • Drought conditions are more likely to occur due to climate change
  • Plants that have adapted to drought conditions (e.g., with silver or hairy leaves) can thrive in these sites
  • Newly planted plants are particularly vulnerable

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The planting plan

James Lawrence, RHS Principal Horticultural Advisor, has designed this simple, attractive, and most importantly, sustainable, border design for you to try at home with plants that are easy to grow, widely available and look good together. 
This planting design provides a range of plants in a pink and white theme, that once established, will thrive in an environment that can be low in soil moisture, while still providing a variety of interest throughout the year.  

Drought tolerant pink and white flowering

© James Lawrence

Choosing plants for a drought prone garden

The leathery leaves of the Viburnum, Olearia and Ozothamnus resist drying out well. The fleshy leaves of the Hylotelephium allow the plant to store moisture to help the plants cope with periods of drought.  
The carpeting Nepeta and Hylotelephium will help protect the soil surface from erosion and moisture loss associated with bare soil. The groundcover plants will also reduce the ability of unwanted plants seeding into bare patches of soil. 
Additional organic mulching can further help with soil moisture retention and weed suppression. 
1 - Abelia x grandiflora
2 - Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius 'Silver Jubilee'
3 - Olearia macrodonta 
4 - Stipa gigantea 
5 - Viburnum tinus 'Gwenllian' 
6 - Cistus x purpureus
7 - Hylotelephium spectabile 'Brilliant'

1 - Abelia x grandiflora is a semi-evergreen shrub with glossy leaves and clusters of pale pink, slightly fragrant flowers. These come over a very long period from mid-summer and have pink calyxes which remain, long after the flowers finish.
2 - Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius ‘Silver Jubilee’ is an evergreen shrub with rosemary-like, silver-grey leaves and compact clusters of scented white flower-heads from red buds in summer.  
3 - Olearia macrodonta is an evergreen shrub with spiny-toothed, grey-green leaves, white-felted beneath. It has small daisy-like, fragrant white flowers, borne in large clusters in summer.  
4 - Stipa gigantea is a tufted evergreen grass with arching leaves and large panicles of oat-like, dusky purple flowers which ripen to gold from late summer into autumn.
5 - Viburnum tinus ‘Gwenllian’ is a bushy evergreen shrub with dark green leaves and compact clusters of starry white flowers opening in late winter from red-pink buds, followed by metallic-blue berries.  
6 - Cistus x purpureus is an evergreen shrub with narrow, dull green leaves. Its flowers are purple-pink with large deep red blotches at the base, produced in summer.  
7 - Hylotelephium spectabile ‘Brilliant’ is an herbaceous perennial with succulent, grey-green leaves on thick stems. Flattened heads of small, star-shaped, pink flowers are borne from late summer. 

About drought prone areas

Drought prone areas can be caused in different ways, including a lack of rainfall locally, the rain shadow created by buildings, excessive runoff, and compaction preventing water from penetrating the soil. The regular addition of organic matter in the soil can really help with water retention. 
By choosing plants that are adapted to drought conditions you can keep your border looking good and growing well. However, your plants will need watering for the first year until they grow new roots down into reliably damp earth. These plants are drought tolerant so they will survive periods of drought but not for an extended time. 
A simple planting plan helps create depth, interest and good coverage in a border.

The challenge of growing plants in drought prone locations

Sun and wind can increase the rate of moisture loss from soil and from plants, so if you have the space, creating some shade to reduce evaporation from direct sunlight and/or a windbreak to reduce the effect of wind, may help. 

Why choose a sustainable planting combination?

Using the ethos of 'right plant, right place' to create a sustainable planting combination is great for the environment. It helps avoid waste and the use of products and practices needed to try and help ailing plants, such as the application of fertiliser. It also creates robust, long-lived planting that benefits soil health and garden biodiversity. 

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