Creating Dazzling Drought-Tolerant Gardens

Designers are leaning towards tougher gardens that can tolerate hotter summers and less rain due to climate change.

This means that xeriscaping – a type of landscaping that focuses on drought-tolerant planting – will be moving further into the spotlight. 

Beauty and color needn’t be sacrificed. Matthew Childs (MSGD), for instance, comments on the use of long-flowering salvias, which are great for wildlife. Tina James (MSGD) is also a fan of these vibrant, colorful plants, and likes to blend them with ornamental grasses for a sense of movement.

Another planting pick set to come back into fashion is the rock rose, as predicted by Tommaso del Buono (MSGD). He explains how they can thrive in hot, dry conditions, and are low-maintenance, fast-growing and offer prolific blooms. They can grow over walls, in mixed borders, or in rockeries, he adds.

Prairie planting also works with this theme. For the Garden Media Group’s Garden Trends 2023 Report, Jeff Epping, the ‘Godfather of gravel’, suggests starting with grasses such as prairie dropseed, little bluestem, big bluestem, or switchgrass. Coneflower, rattlesnake master, prairie baby’s breath, smooth penstemon, cup plant, stiff coreopsis, asters, and goldenrods can then be layered for a beautiful, drought-tolerant tapestry.

It’s no surprise that the formal, water-guzzling, and high-maintenance lawn is still losing its popularity of the past. For 2023, landscaping with gravel is much more in vogue. Tomoko Kawauchi agrees with this prediction, and already includes gravel in all of her projects.

Don’t forget about trees. ‘Damage from heat and drought can stress them and make them more susceptible to disease and insect infestations,’ comments the Garden Media Group. 

Dan Herms, Ph. D., a scientist at Davey Tree, says we need to make informed decisions about which trees to plant for the changing climate. Trees are one solution to battle a warming planet, he adds. Luckily, there are lots of drought-tolerant trees to choose from.

Source: gardeningetc.com©