Xeriscaping is simply utilizing plants in your landscape design that have exceptionally low to moderate water requirements. Many people may not even want to look at an article on xeriscaping because it engenders visions of rocks and cactus. Don’t leave yet!
It is so much more than that! This is NOT your grandmother’s xeriscape garden design. You CAN have a water-wise garden, while delighting in an amazing selection of colorful blossoms, architecturally interesting plants, and foliage with eye-catching texture and pigment.
The following perennials will grow well in gardens designed specifically to embrace water conservation, sustainable landscapes, and biodiversity. You may be surprised at the almost endless selection of drought-tolerant perennial plants that can elevate your xeriscape garden to a level you never knew was possible!
Flowering Perennials
Agastache (Agastache spp.) – A perennial in USDA Hardiness zones 4 through 10, this distant relative of mint, exudes some of that minty smell while putting on an informal display of varying hues with its tall spikes of diminutive, tubular blossoms. Sometimes known as Hummingbird Mint, it has earned this nickname by not only being extremely attractive to hummingbirds, but to butterflies and bees as well. Agastache plants bloom from summer into the fall and are remarkably drought-tolerant once established.
Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – This drought-tolerant perennial is native to the plains of North America, where rainfall can be spotty and unpredictable. They are robust growers, typically in cheery shades of taxi-cab yellow with those signature dark brown or black eyes, though newer hybrid cultivars are expanding your color choices. Black-Eyed Susans will shout joyously from the bed of a xeriscape garden! This prolific bloomer is a perennial in zones 3 through 9.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata) – A long-blooming perennial plant in zones 3 through 9, this plant’s common name comes from the fact that it “blanketed” the prairies of the Midwest. This wildflower is accustomed to droughty conditions, as rainfall is never predictable in their native environment. You can choose from vividly-colored red, yellow, and orange bicolored blossoms in fascinating forms. Once established, the Blanket Flower is quite at home in a water-wise garden.
Beardtongue (Penstemon barbatus and Penstemon spp.) – Native to North America and Guatemala this perennial is tremendously versatile. At home in rock gardens, wildflower gardens, and xeriscape gardens, this low maintenance perennial is hardy in zones 3 to 9. Tubular flowers with a fuzzy, quirky, fifth stamen, grow in shades of white, lavender, blue, pink, and red, inviting hummingbirds to partake of their sweet nectar. Beardtongue is extremely drought-tolerant once established.
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) – This flowering, wildflower perennial can be seen growing prolifically from southern California to southern Washington state and east to parts of Texas. Bright orange flowers are the norm, though newer cultivars can be found in bronze, white, scarlet, rose, and terra-cotta hues. Its native environment is open grassy fields and sandy slopes, making this hardy plant ideal for erosion prone areas. Also called the Golden Poppy its happy blossoms will grace your xeriscape garden, in zones 6 through 10, with minimal care once established; it even thrives in poor soils!
Coral Bells (Heuchera spp.) – This perennial is widely grown for its mounding foliage, which you can find in just about every color imaginable. With literally hundreds of hybrids and varieties, you are guaranteed to find a pigment that tickles your fancy. Considered a short-lived perennial in zones 4 through 9, some gardeners change the color palette of their xeriscape gardens every few years. Dividing the clumps of plants every few years will extend their life in your garden. Though Coral Bells grow well in full sunlight, they also shine in partially-shaded gardens. Coral Bells will produce slender stems bearing thousands of tiny blossoms, in hues of red, white, pink, and orange, rising above its foliage in the spring and summer.
Ornamental Grasses
Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) – This rapidly-growing, well-behaved, perennial ornamental grass grows in clumps of striking blue foliage. Its gently arching leaves can grow 2 to 3-feet in length, while their slender nature adds movement to your garden as the breezes blow. Bearing tender spike-lets of brownish blue flowers, they change to autumn-appropriate harvest gold in late summer to fall, producing bird-friendly oat-like clusters once the blooms fade. Blue Oat Grass is a perennial in zones 4 through 9 and an interesting addition to your xeriscape garden.
Mexican Feather Grass (Nassella tenuissima) – This ornamental grass is a perennial in zones 7 through 10, though its somewhat fast growth enables gardeners to plant it as an annual in zones north of 7. Its slender, almost thread-like leaves grow up to 2 feet tall, usually standing upright, not arching as fountain grasses do, even when its soft, feathery plumes are at their fullest. This ornamental grass will require your due diligence if you do not want it to grow out of control. It produces oodles of seeds that germinate quickly, resulting in new plants coming up everywhere! However, if you live in an arid area and have a slope that is subject to erosion, plant these en masse. They will eventually cover the entire slope.
Shrubs
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) – This highly aromatic perennial shrub is hardy in zones 4 through 9 and will grow 3 to 4-feet tall. With an airy appearance, its tall, wispy spikes of blossoms range in color from palest lavender to purply-blue, blooming from early summer to mid-fall. Absolutely stunning when planted en masse, it stands out when planted as a specimen plant in mixed borders. Russian Sage prefers dry, hot areas and well-draining, poor quality soil. It will be quite at home in your sunny xeriscape garden.
Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum) – This remarkably fragrant perennial is a mid-sized shrub bearing bright yellow blossoms on stems that are almost leafless but are flexible and grow erectly. Tough and showy, this native of the Mediterranean lives to be neglected, loving well-draining, poor quality soil, especially in sunny sites. Due to its inexhaustible seed production, this cheerful shrub is considered a noxious weed in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. Its honey-vanilla fragrance would be intensified if planted en masse as erosion control on a gravelly slope.
There you have it! Drought-tolerant perennial plants of every color and texture imaginable. Let your imagination run free, using these descriptions as inspiration to design a water-wise garden that YOU love and are proud of. Biodiversity, sustainability, and water conservation are all tenets of xeriscaping. There is nothing that says it cannot also be magnificent!
