No Fail Drought Tolerant Plants for Low Water Gardens:
Let’s welcome in the New Year with some water wise plants. As an Austinite we know the importance of water conservation, especially during the Summer. Try conserving water year-round with these lush drought tolerant plants for a water friendly garden!
Yarrow (Achillea) Zones 3-8
This drought tolerant plant has a long bloom time and has many colorful varieties including yellow, pink, red and white. Yarrow prefers sun or part shade and offers beautiful blooms all Summer.
Purple Coneflower Zones 3-8
Butterflies love this unique popular perennial. Coneflowers are a common wildflower outside of Texas but thanks to recent breeding, there are many hybrids any color of the rainbow that do great here in the Lonestar state.
Ornamental Grass
Ornamental grasses are my favorite drought tolerant design element in any landscape! It requires minimal maintenance and no additional watering. Ornamental grasses offer your landscape a wide range of textures, color and natural movement as they sway with the wind. A very popular ornamental grass here in Austin is ‘Gulf’ muhly grass (which I’ve affectionately referred to as “Cotton Candy Grass” since I was a kid).
Butterfly Bush Zones 5-9
Wooly Butterfly Bush is a South Texas native with silver blue-green leaves that’s also very Winter hardy. It prefers sun or part shade and blooms orange flowers in the late Spring through the Fall that will keep your yard full of beautiful butterflies.
Coreopsis Zones 3-9
This Texas native has yellow daisy-like flowers that bloom in the Spring through the Summer. Coreopsis can tolerate hot and dry spots of your yard and prefer full sun to part sun.
Sedum Zones 4-9
This drought tolerant perennial tolerates low water landscaping and has two forms; upright sedums or creeping sedums. Creeping sedums make great ground covers and look especially great for a splash of color in your rock garden or my favorite location, between steps on outdoor paths.
Artemisia Zones 4-9
With blue-green lace like foliage, this evergreen is a beauty year-round. It’s tolerant of low water, poor soil, very pest resistant and prefers full sun. I like to use it to accentuate perennials and ornamental grasses. The variety ‘Powis Castle’ is even deer and rabbit resistant!
Gaura Zones 5-9
Gaura is my favorite drought tolerant perennial. This fine textured plant has tall flower spikes with flowers that resemble butterflies. Cut it back to about 3” after the first freeze and it will come back 2-3 feet tall each year. It’s dainty butterfly appearance is essential for any Texas cottage style garden.