Leaf adaptations allow plants to withstand heat and drought well. The thick, leathery leaves of the Photinia and Genista, and the hairy leaves of the Salvia and Heuchera, reduce the water lost from the foliage.
The Genista and Heuchera also create ground cover, which suppresses weed growth and helps to cover the soil. This cover reduces soil erosion and the loss of surface water from evaporation.
Using an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost, while the plants establish can help to provide the same benefits.
Several of these plants will also attract vital pollinators to your garden, helping to improve biodiversity.
1 – Forsythia x intermedia ‘Lynwood Variety’ is an upright deciduous shrub with bright yellow flowers in early spring before the green leaves emerge.
2 – Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ has glossy leaves that are bright red when young, dark green as they mature. Clusters of creamy-white flowers appear in spring if left unpruned.
3 – Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea ‘Golden Ring’ has small, rounded purple-red leaves, narrowly edged with yellow, that turn red in autumn. Flowers are pale yellow in spring, followed by small, deep crimson berries in autumn.
4 – Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’ is a bushy semi-evergreen plant, with aromatic, glossy deep green leaves. Large, glowing, rich red flowers with purple-black calyces and stems appear over a long period from late spring to autumn.
5 – Genista lydia is a compact deciduous dwarf shrub with arching or trailing branches. The leaves are small and the flowers like bright yellow pea flowers, held in terminal clusters in early summer.
6 – Heuchera ‘Lipstick’ is a mound-forming perennial with palmate, silver-veined green leaves and spires of small, lipstick-red flowers in summer.