Rosy's Planting Plan for a Drought Resistant Border

Recently our summers have proved to be hot, sometimes very hot and dry, with little rain to nourish the garden.  Some plants have naturally adapted to develop resilience and drought tolerance by protecting themselves from the sun, for example through silver or blue-grey leaves with tiny hairs or foliage with a tough, waxy surface. 

The 13 plants included in Rosy's plan for a drought resistant border will all thrive in full sun in a well drained soil and can cope with periods of little rain once they are established.  Although shown within a rectangular 'border' area, the same plants would also suit a gravel garden by pulling groups of plants apart to introduce walkways through them.  

As with our other plans, you can scale the area and quantity of plants up or down to suit your garden.  If you need help with this please contact us, we would be delighted to help. 

Click here for a printable version of Rosy's Drought Resistant Border

The Plan

AMARINE 'Anastasia' (1) - vibrant pink flowers in autumn arranged like the spokes of a wheel on upright stems - bit of a showstopper

BALLOTA pseudodictamnus (2) - medium height mounds of tactile grey-green foliage with small pale pink flowers in summer, good for planters too

GAURA 'Rosy Shimmers' (3) - airy and graceful plant with large pale pink flowers and deeper reddish-pink veining from mid summer into autumn

HYLOTELEPHIUM 'Matrona' (4) - clusters of small pale pink flowers in autumn over waxy bronzed foliage - attractive seed heads through winter

IBERIS sempervirens (5) - a spreading carpet of pure white flowers in late spring/early summer over dark evergreen foliage

IPHEION 'Alberto Castillo' (6) - masses of dainty white honey-scented flowers during late winter and early spring - summer deciduous

LYCHNIS coronaria 'Gardeners World' (7) - vivid magenta double flowers on multi-branching stems in summer - does not self-seed

MORINA longifolia (8) - white flowers fading to pink then crimson over glossy, thistle-like foliage from July through August - will wander as it self seeds  

PEROVSKIA 'Blue Spire' (9) - 'Russian Sage' - masses of small pale blue flowers carried on white stems in autumn - fragrant with good winter interest

PULSATILLA vulgaris 'Rode Klokke' (10) - stunning red form of Pasque Flower - crimson red petals and finely dissected foliage

STIPA tenuissima (11) - 'Mexican Feather Grass' - a fountain of fine green grass fading to buff in autumn, staying upright through winter - very tactile 

TEUCRIUM x lucidrys (12) - bright pink tubular flowers through summer set off by shiny evergreen foliage - this shrub can be clipped to form a low hedge

VERBASCUM 'Chantilly' (13) - delicate pale cream flowers open from the base of the stem upwards from mid to late summer - neat basal foliage 

Sadly we are unable to guarantee having all of the plants available all of the time via mail order. However, if you are visiting the Nursery Shop we may be able to supply suitable substitutes for the plants which you are missing, equally we may actually have the plants listed on Rosy's plans as we often have a wider range of plants available via the Nursery Shop than we are able to offer via mail-order. 

You may also be interested in ... 

Rosy's planting plan for a Sunny Border

Rosy's planting plan for a Shady Border

Rosy's Planting Plan for a Border with Moisture Retentive Soil