Wondering what to plant now that will bloom next spring? Here are a few heat-resistant, drought-tolerant ideas for you. All of the plants in my garden are growing on rainfall alone. Umm, OK, when it was 120 degrees last year I may have given them a little extra water, but that was it, really.
I am impressed with the results. Take this as proof that a drought tolerant garden doesn’t have to be all cactus or nsucculents. The key is either using California or western native plants or plants who come from places with similar climates like Australia, or Mediterranean climates.
Rock Rose
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These drought-tolerant Mediterranean natives are also called Cistus are hardy to about 15 degrees. Rock Rose has beautiful big pink flowers of 5 petals with dark pink dots in the center of each petal. Colors range from white to dark purplish pink. The petals can look crinkly like crepe paper.
These stay around two feet tall in my garden and need a bit of trimming to keep them from getting to rangy. They take full sun to part shade and are drought tolerant.
The New Western Garden Book reports that they are good for erosion control on slopes.
Fragrant Freesia Flowers
I picked up a bag of bulbs (technically, corms) from the dollar store and was hooked! Freesia flowers come in a rainbow of different colors, with single or double flowers.
My purple batch is flowering now. Later there will be yellow and white blooms. They smell too good to be left outside! These dependable bloomers are native to southern Africa; another match to my dry, arid climate.
They take full sun to part shade and are hardy to about 20 degrees. When the corms are first sprouting they look a lot like a clump of grass; be careful not to trim them.
Sprinkle a few bulbs of Fressia around your garden, in little blank spots, or under shrubs for a bit of extra color.
Daphne
This small, slow growing shrub is best suited to areas with part shade. In my garden it gets some shade and probably less water than it would prefer, yet has beautiful light pink blooms every year.
Each year it is covered in beautiful pink blossoms after we get some rain.
Flower colors range from light to deep pinks, and bloom on new growth. Daphne shrubs can be trimmed into hedges, but I like mine wild, and full of flowers .
Mexican Sage (Salvia leucantha)
Another flowering member of the versatile salvia family and native to Mexico, this is salvia leucantha. They grow to about three feet tall in my garden, but can reach five or six feet. They are drought-tolerant, and hardy to about 30 degrees.
The back of the leaves are silvery and furry. I love the long, dramatic spikes of purple flowers. These perennials look best when they are trimmed back after flowering.
Now is a perfect time to get your spring planting started so get out there and let the rains help your plants get established.
Good luck and happy gardening!