Leaf adaptations allow plants to withstand heat and drought well, the hairy foliage of the Verbena and the Salvia help to reduce water loss from the foliage.
The Gypsophila forms ground cover, which suppresses weed growth and helps to cover the soil. Keeping ground covered reduces soil erosion and the loss of water from the soil surface by 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 – Acer palmatum ‘Katsura’ is a deciduous shrub with yellow-green leaves that are margined with pink in spring, becoming green in summer and turning bright orange in autumn.
2 – Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’ is a deciduous shrub with very finely dissected yellow-green leaves. Small, conical heads of creamy white flowers in spring are occasionally followed by glossy red berries in summer.
3 – Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla ‘Eva’ is a deciduous shrub with very deeply dissected purple-black foliage. Flat heads of tiny, dusky pink flowers are borne in summer, followed by purple-black berries.
4 – Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’ is a deciduous shrub with arching branches of dark red-purple, deeply divided leaves that turn red and orange in autumn.
5 – Verbena bonariensis is a herbaceous perennial producing tall, sturdy stems topped with branched clusters of small, bright purple flowers from summer to autumn.
6 – Salvia ‘Blue Spire’ is a deciduous sub-shrub with white stems bearing deeply divided, aromatic greyish leaves. Large plumes of small violet-blue flowers open in late summer and autumn.
7 – Gypsophila ‘Rosenschleier’ is a semi-evergreen perennial with narrow, grey-green leaves. Slender stems bear large, open sprays of pale pink or white double flowers in summer.