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Summertime - and the Plants Are all Crispy

© Carol Wallace

Plants with silvery foliage also tend to be drought tolerant. That's because they are not really silver, but green with a covering of fine, sometimes invisible hairs. You can see that in the picture of lambs ears (Stachys byzantina) at right. These hairs not only give the plants its silvery appearance, but help the leaves to hold in moisture. Not only that - the light coloring helps because it reflects, rather than absorbs heat. Lavender, artemisias, buddleias, Stachys byzantina (lamb's ears), Russian sage (perovskia), Helichrysum petiolares (licorice plant), Dusty Miller and grey santolina all do well in my garden in areas that rarely get watered. I grow lots of all of these because I happen to be nuts about silver foliage.

Succulent plants actually carry their own water supply in the leaves; sedums, sempervivum and yucca fit into this category. I also grow a ton of these because they come in such beautiful colors that it doesn't matter if they ever flower. Plants with waxy coatings on the leaves also hold in water - such as many blue hostas.

Plants with tiny leaves, like Gaura, many Nepetas, and rue (Ruta graveolens) also tolerate drought because their leaf surface is so small that their exposure to intense light and heat is minimized.

And finally, look for native plants if you live in an area which suffers from drought on a regular basis. These plants developed survival mechanisms years ago to help them withstand your local conditions. So they are no strangers to drought. I wasn't always crazy about native plants - they looked too much like WEEDS - but something about echinaceas (coneflowers), mallows, Coreopsis, heucheras and other natives are starting to look very right to me - and plantings that feature them are among my favorites in the yard. Plus they are very nearly care-free.

Water-efficient planting schemes
Now that you have all the right plants - where do you plant them?? Well, I put all my most drought tolerant plants in places where the hose doesn't reach, or where I simply don't feel like dragging it too often. (Told you I was lazy!) So for the most part, drought tolerant plants are all grouped together in various outer stretches of the yard.

The plants that I MUST grow that want water all are within easy reach of some kind of watering system. I also put drought tolerant plants that don't mind water in these groups. Daylilies, for instance, not only don't mind water but will actually grow in a pond - but the ones in the outer reaches of my yard on the dry slope look equally happy. So I plant them wherever I please. You can see how dry and brown the grass is in thispicture - but notice how the daylilies don't seem the least bit affected?