As our summers grow hotter and drier, we seek out gorgeous drought-tolerant flowers and plants that thrive in the arid swelter. Of course, it's the species that hail from parched, stony terrain in warm regions, such as the Mediterranean, that win. Even in high temperatures, they don't need watering daily (if at all), and they love the microclimates of modern gravel and rubble gardens. Here are 17 stunning drought-tolerant flowers for sizzling summers that you may not have come across before.
- 1. Nepeta nuda 'Romany Dusk' AGM
- 2. Shaggy rosinweed (Silphium mohrii)
- 3. Papaver dubium subsp. lecoqii 'Albiflorum'
- 4. Nodding sage (Salvia nutans)
- 5. Penstemon barbatus subsp. coccineus
- 6. Seseli hippomarathrum
- 7. Allium carinatum subsp. pulchellum f. album
- 8 .Asphodel (Asphodeline lutea)
- 9. Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis'
- 10. Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- 11. Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpureum)
- 12. Weld (Reseda luteola)
- 13. Silene laciniata 'Starburst'
- 14. Salvia sclarea subsp. turkestanica 'Vatican White'
- 15. Sunset foxglove (Digitalis obscura)
- 16. Siberian statice (Limonium gmelinii)
- 17. Very dark purple knapweed (Centaurea atropurpurea)
Plum stalks abloom with white and lilac flowers that lure bees in July and August. Not instantly recognisable as a catmint, unless you're up close to enjoy the caramel aroma of the leaves.
Type: perennial
Height: 90 centimetres to 1.5 metres
Shaggy rosinweed (Silphium mohrii)
A true prairie plant that is now rare in its native US, this giant produces soft-lemon daisies on stout stems with hairy leaves. Pollinators visit from July to November. Great with Althaea cannabina.
Type: perennial
Height: 1.5 to 1.7 metres
This lovely poppy has pink flowers with white dots from May to July. Referred to as Beth's poppy because that's what it was called at Great Dixter, after Beth Chatto gifted it to the garden.
Type: self-seeding hardy annual
Height: 40 to 60 centimetres
Nodding sage (Salvia nutans)
From the dry grasslands of Eastern Europe, this graceful sage bears pendant heads of purple-blue flowers on slender, tall stems in summer. Grows from rosette clumps of leaves and attracts bees.
Type: perennial
Height: 90 centimetres to 1.2 metres
This tall, willowy penstemon is superb in naturalistic plantings. Bees love the letterbox-red tubular blooms in summer and autumn; in its native US, it is pollinated by hummingbirds.
Type: perennial
Height: 60 centimetres to 1.2 metres
Umbels of cream, pink, and wine flowers on airy stems in summer and autumn, above very fine foliage. Native to Ukraine, this cow-parsley lookalike attracts hoverflies.
Type: perennial
Height: 60 to 90 centimetres
The white-flowered keeled garlic spreads in open, sunny, well-drained sites, creating an effect of seafoam. Bees love the flowers that look like exploding and raining white fireworks. Plant in autumn.
Type: perennial bulb
Height: 40 to 60 centimetres
Asphodel (Asphodeline lutea)
Potentially the asphodel of Hades, this Mediterranean wonder sends up torches of bright-yellow starry fragrant flowers from a base of glaucous needles in May and June. A. liburnica flowers slightly later.
Type: perennial
Height: 80 centimetres to 1 metre
The interesting cousin of traditional cranesbills, Bill has small bee-friendly mauve flowers on spindly stems, which look great growing through other plants. Lovable and bulletproof.
Type: self-seeding perennial
Height: 20 to 30 centimetres
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Orange summer flowerheads lure butterflies and bees, before morphing into wonderfully weird seedpods. Although not as sap-laden as some milkweeds, wear gloves to handle.
Type: perennial
Height: 30 to 90 centimetres
Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpureum)
From the Great Plains of North America, this incredible perennial can form a 2-metre taproot, allowing it to survive drought. The pink-purple flowerheads look like Mexican hats and attract bees in summer.
Type: perennial
Height: 30 to 90 centimetres
Weld (Reseda luteola)
A non-native wildflower that has naturalised here, this old dye plant sends up wands of honey-scented primrose flowers that feed pollinators in summer. Deadhead to prevent its enthusiastic self-seeding!
Type: self-seeding biennial
Height: 1 to 1.5 metres
This Mexican campion is great for splashing dots of bright red through a border. Starry scarlet flowers on slender grey stems in summer and autumn. Sometimes sold as 'Jack Flash'.
Type: perennial
Height: 45 to 60 centimetres
This clary produces striking upright brooms of papery white flowers that feed bees in late spring and summer, above aromatic foliage. Mesmerising at dusk or in moonlight.
Type: self-seeding biennial
Height: 90 centimetres to 1.2 metres
Sunset foxglove (Digitalis obscura)
This willow-leaved gem from Spain and Morocco has sprays of bronze, gold, and orange flowers that are good for cutting if you wear gloves and sear the toxic stems in boiling water.
Type: short-lived perennial subshrub
Height: 50 centimetres to 1.2 metres
Siberian statice (Limonium gmelinii)
Growing wild on the Eurasian Steppe, sprays of wildlife-friendly amethyst-purple flowers adorn this sand-loving stalwart in summer. It is long-lasting as a dried flower.
Type: perennial
Height: 40 to 60 centimetres
Very dark purple knapweed (Centaurea atropurpurea)
Rounding up our list of wonderful drought-tolerant flowers is the purple knapweed with thistle-like flowerheads and burgundy tops that float like ball canes on slender stems. Butterfly-friendly summer blooms, followed by architectural seedheads. Syn. C. calocephala.
Type: perennial
Height:75 centimetres to 1 metre
All of these drought-resistant plants thrive in very well-drained soil (or rubble beds) and full sun.
