Example of Plants for Dry Gardens
Posted on Mar 05, 2010 under dried flowers | Comments are offWhile it is in general terms a good thing to try to improve soil conditions, it is possible to live with existing conditions by choosing your plants carefully. Many plants have adapted their demands so that they are able to live with drought, particularly plants that come originally from Mediterranean climates.
It is very important to choose plants that will tolerate such dry soils. If you try to get ordinary plants to grow in them, you will be disappointed because they will not be able get enough moisture or food from the soil and will not grow very well. If, however, you choose plants that have adapted to these conditions, you should have few problems in creating an interesting garden.
There are a few plants for dry conditions. Few gardens have desert conditions, so you do not have to go to extremes and grow only succulents, such as cacti, that tolerate such places. However, there are a lot of plants that come from parts of the world where, for example, dry summers are followed by wet autumns and winters. Many annuals come from these areas, so do bulbs and many silver leaved plants, try combining these to create an unusual but beautiful garden where their subtle colors are well set off by a gravel background. Weed these areas well, or the effect will be ruined.
How do we create a gravel garden? Many gardeners specifically set out to create dry conditions by adding great quantities of gravel to the ordinary soils. This increases its drainage ability and makes it suitable for plants that you may not have been able to grow before.
Examples of plants for dry gardens are Allium hollandicum, Argemone, Artemesia, Bergenia, Canna, Crambe, Elymus, Lavatera, Salvia, Sedum, Verbascum, Yucca, Pennisetum, Glaucium flavum, Onopordon acanthium, and Ophiopogon planiscapus.
A surprisingly large number of plants like dry conditions and a very attractive garden can be built around them. Grasses are excellent for dry gardens. Annuals, such as Marigold (calendula) and vipers bugloss (echium vulgure) will self sow to provide next year’s plants.
