Using Drought Resistant Plants in Waterwise Gardens

What comes to mind when you think of summer? Lounging poolside or on the boat, or relaxing in your garden? These days it seems that weather days have never been hotter. It’s a truth that we are seeing with every hot summer forecast, and with every excruciatingly hot heat wave. We are seeing record breaking temperatures and heat waves across the United States – particularly in the southern states. Heat waves can create big problems for gardens, especially when it isn't raining for days or weeks at a time and there is no rain forecasted for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, even if you try performing a rain dance every day, let’s face it - there is no controlling Mother Nature and when she wants to give us rain!

On top of the issue of heat waves, we are seeing townwide or district wide restrictions on water use! This has been done by many townships in order to conserve water and prevent water shortages. Add in the cost of living that seems to just keep increasing for Americans, and you have higher utility bills that create more issues around water use. How on earth are we supposed to take care of our gardens when we can’t water them? As gardeners we want to make sure that the money we invest in our  plants does not go down the drain (pun intended) with a couple unsufferable hot days. Preventing a wave of plant deaths really seems like it is an impossible feat when you see sad, wilted leaves, yellowing or browning instead of beautiful green, or thirsty plants in your garden.

If you live in an extraordinarily hot area where you can’t fathom using your hose on these hot days, and want to enjoy your days relaxing poolside instead, I’m here to tell you that you can create a high color garden specifically intended to thrive during hot summers. If you talk to any ecologist, they will tell you that these days the less water you are using in your garden is best for the environment, when conserving water is so important. Let me introduce you to the concept of waterwise gardens. Waterwise gardens are those that need very little water, and are excellent for hosting drought resistant plants.

When you think of a waterwise or drought resistant garden, you might think that you are limited to only use grasses, cacti, or succulents, but you can do much more. You do not need to lose variety in color or texture when you make your garden heat proof. There are many beautifully colored perennial flowers that you can use to bring delightful brightness to your space.

Design your garden to be heat proof with these techniques:

Rocky structure: If you feel that your garden is lacking in designated pathways, add much needed structure to your garden. You can do this by using a mixture of small stones, gravel, and boulders that will help hold in the soil moisture. While it may seem arbitrary, creating pathways in the garden is important for establishing parts of the garden.

Water containers: You need to make the water work for you. Use ollas, ceramic jars, that are semi-buried in the soil that slowly leach out water through the ceramic walls and to the roots as the plant needs it. Ollas are best suited for small gardens - not large landscapes. Be sure that you are using unglazed ceramic pots. You can also use barrels or small jars to catch rainwater to use for your plants.

Grouping: When designing your garden, you can group plants in your garden by their water needs when it is possible. This is an excellent strategy to help conserve water, and is a means to be able to efficiently water the plants that need the most water and leave the plants that need very little water alone.

Water Deeply: When you water, be sure that you are watering your plants deeply but infrequently. Doing the opposite, watering just on the surface, means you will need to be watering more often and using more water overall – not what you want to be doing during a drought.

Use Shade: Another method to keep water costs down and keep your garden thriving? Use the shade created by the canopies of drought resistant trees to keep your perennial plants happy.

Create your garden to be full of flowering plants that are excellent at weathering through the heat waves:

Hummingbird Magnets: Plant the blanket flower. This summer blooming perennial flower is highly drought resistant, and it has bold, nectar rich flowers with red and orange coloring that will attract hummingbirds to your garden.

Soothing Foliage: Grasses are the perfect way to add some unexpected greenery and airiness to the garden.  You can create a soft sea of green with the textured carex. This is a green grass that stays lush without needing much water: making it an excellent choice for a drought resistant garden.

A Bird Lover’s Paradise: Plant the purple coneflower for great beauty and for the additional bonus of bringing birds to your garden. This plant has an extended season, so you can enjoy the plants from late spring through early fall, especially if you take the time to deadhead spent flowers.

Strong and Steady: If you are looking for lovely and vibrant color coupled with a long blooming season, look no further than ironweed. This is the pinnacle of drought resistant plants.

Colorful All Summer Long: The low maintenance and drought resistant black eyed susan will delight you all summer long with its cheerful yellow flowers.

Most people these days are turning to what were once considered alternative styles of living: beeswax wraps for vegetables, parchment paper being chosen over tin foil, and reusable cloth covers for bowls. Does this sound like you? Do you want your lifestyle to be more sustainable and ecofriendly? If so, you are certainly in good company. If you are desiring a more ecofriendly lifestyle these are great plants to have in your garden: these high value and visually pleasing waterwise plants and techniques are great for the gardener who wants to be eco conscious and reduce the amount of water being used by their landscape.

Now that you have learned the benefits of these waterwise plants, I would like to point out that even if you do not currently have water restrictions on your property or landscape, using these clever techniques for creating a drought resistant garden, and using these plants, is a surefire way of significantly reducing the gardening workload for the busy (or lazy) gardeners who come home from a 9 to 5 and just want to relax. Truly this is the perfect method of gardening for people who would prefer to enjoy their gardens from afar than to be working in them daily.

With this new knowledge, it’s time to get your shopping order on through the links on this page and plant your waterwise garden. Let us know how your new, ecofriendly garden turns out.