With heatwave after heatwave dominating the British summer, gardeners are reconsidering what they can grow. Alan Titchmarsh has produced a list of his five favourite drought-resistant plants for a low-maintenance garden.
“I'm always looking for drought-resistant plants that can cope with less water,” he says, “so, without further ado, here are my top five.”
Cistus Pulverulentus Sunset
“This one has to figure,” Alan says on his YouTube channel, holding up a compact evergreen shrub with vibrant magenta-pink flowers, “the sun rose.”
“Now Cistus is a shrub which is semi-evergreen. It's fairly low. It tends to make low mounds and in that respect, it's really useful – particularly in small gardens.” He admits there’s nothing much to see in colder months, but come late spring and early summer, flowers appear “which look as though they've been made from tissue paper.”
Each bloom is short-lived, but the plant replaces them quickly. Its leaves, covered with dozens of tiny hairs, help it retain moisture. “Hairy-leaved plants are generally a fairly good bet for dry drought-ridden conditions,” Alan says. “If you have a long narrow drought-ridden border, plant it entirely with Cistus and from the beginning to the end of summer, you’ll really enjoy these flowers.”
Helianthemum - The Bride
Commonly called the “rock rose,” Helianthemum’s Latin name means “sunflower,” Alan says. “Again, it’s evergreen. It's much, much lower. It scrambles over rocks on a rock garden … or it will just be a really good border edger right at the front of a bed or border.”
“The rock rose is a really good doer from really dry, arid, rocky conditions. You don't need to grow it in a rock garden. Just make sure that, as with all these plants, as well as enjoying sunshine, the soil is well drained.”
Sedum Sunsparkler Plum Dazzled
All Sedums are known as “ice plants” because of their characteristically cold leaf. “A lovely thing for a sensory garden, and for school children, too,” Alan says. “They love it.”
Alongside its attractive plum-coloured foliage, it has “lovely clusters of starry pink flowers towards the end of summer.” “It's a good late flower,” he adds, “so if you've got a garden that is always at its best in June and then sort of fizzles out come the end of summer, the sedums flower right the way through July, August, September, on towards the frost.”
Alan explains why the leaves feel cold: “There’s lots of sap in there, lots of fleshy growth, and rather like insulation in your loft, which stops heat from escaping, this depth of tissue on the plant stops it reacting too quickly to a rise in temperature, so it will stay cool for quite a long time.”
Eryngium Magical White
Sea Holly thrives in a warm, hot, dry, sunny border. “They have really thick roots and those thick roots are capable of drilling down and finding moisture where they need them.” The plant has a tall stem up to four or five feet, with striking silvery-white, thimble-shaped flowers.
“It's really useful because it flowers over a long period from mid to late summer. You can even cut it, hang it up in a dry place and it will dry for winter flower arrangements.”
Agapanthus - Ever Sapphire
“There are lots of agapanthas,” Alan says. “They used to be quite tender. Hardier ones have been bred now.” These tougher agapanthus “flower for a longer period over the summer rather than just in one quick flush.” They are best known for trumpet-shaped mid-blue flowers, though other colours exist. The flowers can be toxic if eaten by children or pets.
Alan emphasises that all these plants need to be properly established first: “All of these plants are drought resistant because they tend to come from countries and areas where water is in short supply. They’ve accustomed themselves over the millennia to being able to grow in dry soil once they're established. I can't emphasise that enough. Don’t think, ‘Oh, it's drought-resistant. Plant it in dry dust. It'll be fine.’ It won’t be fine until its roots are down.”
