Tired of watering? Save time, money and water with a few simple changes.

Mulch your garden beds with shredded leaves, evergreen needles, or other organic matter.  It conserves moisture while suppressing weeds and improving the soil.

Always water plants thoroughly and less frequently to encourage deep more drought tolerant roots. 

And select heat and drought tolerant flowers suited to your climate.  Keep the soil slightly moist while these plants take root.  But once established you’ll only need to water them during extended dry periods.

Use some drought tolerant ornamental grasses for year round beauty.

Plant spring blooming drought tolerant creeping phlox (Phlox subulata), fragrant rockcress (Arabis caucasica) and cushion spurge (Euphorbia polychroma) to start the season.  Use summer bloomers like butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), sea thrift (Armeria maritima), threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata), yarrow, yucca and Russian sage.  Finish off the season with liatris, purple coneflower and goldenrod.

A bit more information:  Hens and chicks, lamb’s ear, and prickly pear cactus are heat and drought tolerant foliage plants.  Drought tolerant groundcovers are good alternatives to lawns.  Deadnettle (Lamium) and barrenwort (Epimedium) are good for dry shade.  Use low growing junipers and sedum for hot, dry, and sunny locations.

Tags

sustainable-gardening flowers-ornamental-grasses trees-shrubs-roses-vines-groundcovers watering sedum russian-sage butterfly-weed threadleaf-coreopsis creeping-phlox purple-coneflower fern-leaf-yarrow deadnettle pink-chablis-deadnettle sea-thrift blazing-star barrenwort sulphur-barrenwort yellow-stonecrop chinese-juniper eastern-redcedar

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