10 Plants That Will Survive a Dry Summer in the Garden
6:09 PM EDT, August 12, 2024
Nowadays in many parts of the world the summers are dryer that they used to be twenty or thirty years ago. We don’t know how often we will have to water our flowers and vegetables. Maybe it’s time we considered xerophytes as many of us may have big problems with watering our plants.
There are several species of plants surviving without much liquid water available in their environment. And these are not only cacti. Xerophytes, the topic plants of this article, will not make you travel to and fro with your watering cans.
Of course we are not able to present all of them today, but let us give just a few examples.
Meadow instead of lawn
Before I move in to introduce particular plants, let me encourage you to consider a flowery meadow round your house instead of a typical lawn. Lawn needs frequent watering. Of source it needs to be mowed from time to time. Meadow is not that demanding. It is almost self-sufficient. Mow it once a year, collect the hay and that’s it.
Of course meadow does not have to dominate the surrounding of our house. The question is whether we really need so much our neatly trimmed lawns? Don’t forget about flowers growing on meadows and bees, who will be more than grateful for having them there.
Remember: the smaller your lawn, the less care it requires!
Ornamental grasses
There are several species of grass resistant to drought, owing to the fact that they come from grasslands with low humidity. There are plenty of them to choose from and they really look wonderful in gardens.
Grey-hair grass
The harsher the conditions, the better for the grey-hair grass. Short, decorative with sharp culms of beige-green-red colour. It is also resistant to being stepped on.
Blue fescue
Grass of blueish and silverfish leaves. Prefers warm sunny spots.
Evergreen oats
Perennials
Some of the plants bloom. We don’t have to rely on grasses only.
Eremurus himalaicus
White, pink, yellow or orange flowers of eremerus himalaicus grow on tall shoots in the early summer. It looks good in the company of other grassy species we have already mentioned.
Bill MacKenzie clematis
A quickly-growing plant blooming for a long time. Looks good on any kind of pergolas. Grows even 6-metre high.
Shrubby cinquefoil
This shrub can grow up to 1.5 m. It blooms profusely from May to October. It is resistant to a number of unfavourable conditions.
The maiden pink
Perennial plant growing really quickly. Pollinated by butterflies.
Breckland thyme
This is not a tall plant. It grows where nothing else would grow. It is resistant to stepping on it and it smells wonderful. We can use it to create carpets of flowers, instead of plain lawns.
Sempervivum
These plants are outstandingly resistant to dry conditions. Depending on species, they come in a variety of colours and sizes.
Sedum
Another plant available in some many kinds that even planting one of each would be enough to decorate a huge garden. Again, available in many sizes and colours.
Herbs
Several herbs, including lavender, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage or marjoram, grow well in spite of little rain and high temperature.