drought tolerant plants

I came across an article on eco-friendly garden designs when I was browsing the BBC News website today. The BBC is running a Planet Under Pressure series which looks at some of the world's biggest environmental problems and one of the steps stated towards solving these issues is to begin at home, and readers were asked to design a garden which was a relaxing green space, used natural resources in a sustainable way and encourages a wide range of plants and wildlife. Now you could tell this competition was organized in the UK because of the prize. If we had done this in the US the prize would have been a Prius, or something of that value, but what do the contestants in this competition win? After producing what looked like very elaborate, well considered schemes and plans, the grand prize of a Henry Doubleday Research Foundation's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening was awarded to the winner, and the runners up all received nothing from what I could tell! Nevertheless, it did prompt many people all over the world to think about eco-friendly gardens which after some research I discovered meant gardens that were good for wildlife, sustainable and organic, and that has to be a good thing.

One of the many issues covered was a scarcity of water, and living here in southern California water is always considered a precious commodity that many gardeners take very seriously when planning their gardens and often try to seek out drought-friendly drought-friendly plants. When planting my own garden I found this really helpful list of the top ten most colorful, water-wise plants suggested by the Southern California Metropolitan Water District at the Union Tribune's website, signonsandiego.com.

This is just a short list of easy plants to grow in this area, but if you need further reference, many more can be found in the great book, California Native Plants for the Garden.

1. California Fuchsia (Zauschneria) – Grows 1 to 2 feet tall. Orange-red flowers in late summer and fall; grayish leaves. Partial shade to sun; little water.

2. Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) – An evergreen shrub that grows to 8 feet tall with pruning, or a vine that reaches 20 feet with support. Leaflets are shiny green; fall-winter flowers are orange and tubular shaped. Tolerates sun or part shade, heat, wind and salt air. Drought tolerant and attracts hummingbirds.

3. California Lilac (Ceanothus) – Many kinds, from ground covers to small trees. 'Concha' grows 6-8 feet tall and wide. Small narrow leaves with intense dark blue flower clusters in spring. Tolerant of coastal and inland conditions.

4. Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii) – Perennial shrub that grows 4 feet tall and wide. Fragrant gray foliage and blue flowers between May and August. Needs full sun and prefers well-drained soil. Native to California and drought tolerant.

5. Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos) – Evergreen perennial with fuzzy rich red, yellow or orange flowers that look like claws. Flower stalks rise high above the iris-like foliage from spring through fall (nearly year-round along coast). Grows 4-6 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide.

6. Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus) – This group of perennials has funnel-shaped flowers that some say resemble a grinning monkey's face. They grow to 4½ feet tall and 1 foot wide. Small, glossy green leaves. Hybrids come in a variety of flower colors – red, orange, white, salmon, white, cream and yellow. Blooms spring and summer.

7. Beard Tongue (Penstemon) – Shrubby perennials with spectacular bright red or blue tubular flowers on spikes. Quite attractive to hummingbirds. Best planted in the fall. Spring to summer bloomer.

8. Pride of Madeira (Echium candicans) – Mature specimens of this evergreen shrub can grow 6-8 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide. In the spring, spikes of rosy violet to blue purple flowers appear. Sun to part shade, with little or no summer watering when established.

9. Woolly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum) – Evergreen California native. Grows 3 to 5 feet tall. Blue flowers on long stalks appear in spring to early fall. Little or no water.

10. Victoria Zoysia Grass – A warm season grass that makes an excellent water-efficient turf.