Drought-Resistant Plants for an Eco-Friendly Garden

Creating an eco-friendly garden means choosing to plant drought-resistant plants that require less water, which will reduce your water bills and benefit the environment. Drought-resistant plants are not just limited to cacti. There are many flowering plants, shrubs, and perennials that have been developed to be drought resistant and will survive on rainfall after they become established. While the first year or first month may require more watering, these plants will add color to your garden after that without much effort.

To reduce water consumption, occasional deep watering is recommended rather than frequent shallow watering. Watering the plants once a week so that the soil receives an inch of water is a general rule of thumb. Watering the leaves should be avoided, and covering the soil with mulch will also help prevent water evaporation from the soil, delaying watering sessions.

Here are some drought resistant plant options for your eco-friendly garden:

• Yarrow ‘Coronation Gold’: Golden yellow flowers bloom among tall, silvery gray leaves. The plants require direct sunlight and soil with proper drainage capabilities.
• Silver Artemisias: This silvery gray leafy plant adds fragrance to your garden. The plants thrive in direct sunlight and well-drained soil, but can be invasive and need to be divided often to limit their spread.
• Purple Coneflower: This plant prefers direct sunlight and well-drained soil and grows up to 4 feet in height.
• Tall Bearded Iris: This plant requires direct exposure to sunlight and well-drained soil. It blooms in spring and grows to over 2 feet in height.
• Rosemary: A hardy plant that produces both flowers and aromatic leaves. It requires less water and grows well in well-drained soil.
• Common Thyme: This garden plant blooms in late spring and early summer and can grow in either direct sunlight or lightly shaded areas.
• Lavender: These mounding plants flower in the summer and grow to between 2 and 3 feet in height.
• Common Sage: The woolly gray-green leaves of this plant make them attractive throughout the growing season. It prefers direct sunlight and well-drained soil.
• Hens and Chicks: A succulent plant with blue-green leaves that are tipped with red or purple highlights in the summer. It should be placed in direct sunlight or lightly shaded locations and the soil should not be flooded.
• Snow-in-Summer: A very short plant with silvery leaves and star-shaped white flowers that thrives in direct sunlight and soil that does not hold water for extended periods of time.
• Creeping Phlox: A hardy plant that grows in fertile soil that is well-drained. It blooms in late spring or early summer and can make attractive borders.
• Sedum: A short plant with fleshy evergreen leaves that grows well in average or fertile soil and requires direct sunlight. It flowers in summer and produces loose clusters of purple or white flowers.

In addition to planting drought-resistant plants, conserving water by storing rainwater in barrels and using mulch to help the soil retain moisture for a longer period of time can make your garden even more eco-friendly.

These steps will ensure that your garden remains lush and enticing without consuming a lot of precious water during the dry months.