Plants for drought-prone gardens with yellow splashes
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
Quick facts
- Drought conditions can mean plants struggle to take up moisture
- Droughts are more likely to occur with climate change
- Plants that have adapted to dry conditions (such as with silver or hairy leaves) can thrive in these sites
- Newly planted plants are particularly vulnerable to drought
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The planting plan
This planting design provides a range of drought-resistant plants 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 planting with a yellow theme
Choosing plants for a drought-prone garden
The function of this selection is to provide a set of plants that can still thrive in challenging drought conditions. Once established, the plants will need minimal care and will perform well without much watering or feeding, reducing our need to use valuable resources. Growing plants in conditions close to their natural environments means they tend to be happier and less likely to suffer from pests, diseases or disorders.
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 help reduce the ability of unwanted plants seeding in bare patches of soil, therefore reducing the need to perform weeding. The fleshy foliage of the Hylotelephium allow the plant to store moisture to help the plants cope with periods of drought.
Additional organic mulching, preferably with homemade compost, can improve soil moisture retention and weed suppression. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist, to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.
1 - Cytisus ‘Boskoop Ruby’
2 - Genista ‘Porlock’
3 - Elaeagnus ‘Gilt Edge’
4 - Cytisus x praecox ‘Allgold’
5 - Salvia ‘Blue Spire’
6- Hylotelephium ‘Ruby Glow’
7 - Nepeta ‘Blue Dragon’
2 - Genista ‘Porlock’ – a semi-evergreen, medium-sized shrub with small leaves and a profusion of fragrant, bright yellow flowers in spring.
3 - Elaeagnus ‘Gilt Edge’ – an evergreen shrub with dark green leaves edged in yellow. Small, fragrant, silvery flowers form in autumn and are sometimes followed by orange berries.
4 - Cytisus x praecox ‘Allgold’ – a bushy, dense, deciduous small shrub with small leaves that are silky when young. Plentiful bright, deep yellow flowers are produced in late spring.
5 - Salvia ‘Blue Spire’ – a small, upright deciduous sub-shrub with white stems bearing deeply divided, aromatic greyish leaves and large, plumy spikes of small violet-blue in late summer and autumn. Previously known as Perovskia.
6 - Hylotelephium ‘Ruby Glow’ – a herbaceous perennial forming a low, spreading clump of deep red stems, with fleshy purplish-green leaves and flat clusters of starry deep crimson flowers.
7 - Nepeta ‘Blue Dragon’ – a spreading perennial with bright green, aromatic foliage and short spikes of large, blue-violet flowers from midsummer to early autumn.
Choosing plants for drought-prone areas
By choosing plants that are adapted to drought conditions, you can keep your border looking good, growing well, and once the plants are established, this will reduce the need for additional resources such as watering. Plants will need watering whilst they are getting established for the first year or two. These plants are drought-tolerant but not drought-proof, so they will thrive in periods of drought but not for an extended length of time.
A simple planting plan helps create depth, interest and good coverage in a border.
The challenge of gardening in drought-prone locations
If you have the space, creating some shade to reduce evaporation from direct sunlight, and/or adding a windbreak to reduce the effect of wind may help.
Why choose a sustainable planting combination?
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