Plan a Drought-Resistant Garden

Credit: Stuart McCall

This garden design provides captivating colour for any hot spot – and retains structural interest throughout the seasons. Here’s how to design a drought-resistant garden plan

Achillea ‘Summer Pastels’
assorted Sempervivum and Cerastium tomentosum
Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’
Salvia ‘Caradonna’
Inner Circle: Lavandula ‘Sawyers’ in terra cotta pot, with Sempervivum and Cerastium tomentosum

Inside Circle: Lavandula ‘Sawyers’ (lavender) in terra cotta pot – zone 7 Alternate with Sempervivum (zone 2) and Cerastium tomentosum – zone 1 Perimeter of Pea Gravel: Festuca ‘Elijah Blue’ (blue fescue) – zone 3 Outside Circle: 1. Verbascum ‘Pink Petticoats’ (mullein) – zone 5 2. Salvia ‘Caradonna’ (perennial sage) – zone 3 3. Achillea ‘Summer Pastels’ (yarrow) – zone 2 4. Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Variegatum’ (varigated Russian stonecrop) – zone 2 5. Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’ (trailing verbena) – zone 7 6. Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’ (dwarf pincushion) – zone 4 This waterwise design is best suited to a hot, dry southern exposure. It would be perfect against a wall – and would look particularly good against brick. “While the plants around the edge of the bed are all deciduous,” says garden designer Kelly Schroeder of Heritage Perennials, “there is enough structural interest with the circle of pea gravel, the pot and the evergreen festuca, sempervivum, lavender and cerastium to carry it through the winter months.” The ruffled flower petals of Verbascum ‘Pink Petticoats’ softens the edges of the planting and makes a pretty neighbour for the Salvia ‘Caradonna’ (perennial sage). Along-side the salvia is Achillea ‘Summer Pastels,’ a drought-tolerant yarrow. Continuing the circular planting is Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Variegatum,’ which leads into a planting of three verbena. The variety chosen for this position is V. ‘Homestead Purple’ that trails clusters of rich purple flowers. The S. kamtschaticum ‘Variegatum’ is repeated on the other side of the verbena. An excellent plant for borders and edging, the sedum’s golden-yellow flowers are shown to best advantage in this position. Soft lavender-blue flowers of Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’ top mounds of grey-green foliage and provide a textural contrast for another planting of A. ‘Summer Pastels’ that completes the circular border. The pea-gravel mulch reinforces the circular contour of the design and has two rich-blue fescue grasses to complement the stones. Defining the centre, in a terra cotta pot, is Lavandula ‘Sawyers,’ a new British hybrid that boasts silvery foliage and spikes of mauve-purple flowers. Surrounding the lavender is assorted Sempervivum and Cerastium tomentosum (snow-in-summer). The verbena and lavender are the only marginal plants both at zone 7. In colder areas, Veronica whitleyi would be a good substitute for the verbena. While you will need to water these plants through their first year (allow the soil to dry between waterings to prevent disease from setting in), once established they will cope with hot, dry conditions and only require a drink when they begin to droop. “Even with significant drought these plants can tough it out and will perk up again with a light shower,” says Schroeder.