With our increasingly hot summers drought-resistant plants are becoming particularly useful for gardeners. Many plants around the world are naturally adapted to growing in dry conditions.
With our increasingly hot summers drought-resistant plants are becoming particularly useful for gardeners. Many plants around the world are naturally adapted to growing in dry conditions.
You can often tell if a plant is adapted to growing in these conditions because their leaves are waxy, succulent, hairy, sticky, small, needle-like, scented or silver in colour. If these plants are well looked after in their first season they will be very forgiving of dry conditions in future years.
There are also many other ways that you can save water, view our top tips for saving water in the garden.
To find out more about which drought-resistant plants are right for your garden, see the tables below for some inspiration on drought-resistant shrubs, flowers and grasses for both full sun and shade:
| Drought resistant shrubs and trees: | Drought resistant perennials and biennials: | Drought resistant annual flowers: | Drought resistant grasses: | Drought resistant ground cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buddleja | Achillea | Californian Poppy | Anemanthele lessoniana | Creeping Phlox |
| Eucalyptus | Alliums | Gazania | Festuca | Delosperma |
| Fig | Anthemis | Mesembryanthemum | Leymus arenarius | Evening Primrose |
| Helianthemum | Asclepias | Osteospermum | Pennisetum | Thyme |
| Lavender | Berlandiera | Poppies (Papaver) | Stipa | |
| Rosemary | Campanula pyramidalis | Senecio cineraria | ||
| Sage | Centaurea (Mixed) | Wallflower | ||
| Echinops | ||||
| Eryngium | ||||
| Evening Primrose | ||||
| Gaillardia | ||||
| Iris | ||||
| Kniphofia | ||||
| Osteospermum (Hardy) | ||||
| Poppies (Papaver) | ||||
| Salvia (perennial varieties) | ||||
| Sedum | ||||
| Verbascum | ||||
| Verbena | ||||
| Wallflower |
| Drought resistant plants for shade |
|---|
| Anemanthele lessoniana |
| Cyclamen ‘All the year round’, Cyclamen neapolitanum, Cyclamen Coum |
| Euphorbia |
| Foxglove |
| Geranium pratense |
| Honesty |
| Hypericum |
| Lily of the Valley |
| Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' |
| Sarcococca |
There is a wide range of low-maintenance plants that can cope with dry conditions and sunny south-facing borders. Visit our comprehensive hub page for more info and advice on growing drought proof plants.

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