No matter where you live, being water wise is the smart way to garden. And if you live in drought stricken or prone areas, it’s a must. While I love a gorgeous hydrangea, and roses are amazing, there are plenty of flowering drought resistant plants that don’t suck down our water resources. These twelve no fail drought tolerant perennials for low water gardens fit the bill, are gorgeous as stand alone plants, and come back every year! (Remember, perennials may die back to their roots in a cold winter, but they come back in the spring).
Table of contents
Drought tolerant landscaping ideas
The plants we list in this post can be grown in most areas of the U.S. Here is some inspiration to get you started, and next, our top plant picks! Photo below shows red Penstemon, Russian Sage and ornamental grasses. By ‘Creative Landscapes‘.
This photo by ‘BHG‘ shows yellow Yarrow and purple Coneflower in the foreground, with blue Russian Sage in the back.
Utilizing ground covers is very important in low-water garden design. The photo below shows how beautiful ground covers can be and includes some of our favorite plants- sedums! Keep reading for some of our favorite varieties later in this post. We also love that this garden has one of our favorite garden decor objects- a concrete garden globe, which we happen to have a tutorial on. To see it, click here.
Drought tolerant perennial plants
Here at TGG, we have lived with a desert garden, so we have either grown most of these drought tolerant perennials ourselves, or have had direct experience with them. So watch for our tips throughout this article to help them look their best, and grow to their potential! Now let’s get into our favorite drought tolerant perennials!
Drought tolerant perennial flowers
You know we love our flowers! The more color in the garden, the better. And a lack of water doesn’t have to mean missing out! These are some of our favorite drought tolerant flowers to include in your yard.
Yarrow (Achillea) Zones 3-8
Yarrow has long been one of our favorite drought tolerant plants because of its strong architectural feel, long bloom time, low water needs and attractive, feathery foliage. There are many varieties, including ones in pink, red, coral and white, but our favorite is still the bold yellow “Coronation Gold’. Grows to 3 feet, is a great cut and dried flower, and brightens up any garden. Blooms all summer, full sun. Very easy to grow.
Photo by ‘BHG‘.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) Zones 3-8
Purple Coneflower has gone from being a wildflower grown in natural gardens, to one of the most popular perennials around thanks to some amazing new hybrids. Minis from one foot all the way up to four foot tall varieties exist, in every color from purple to white to green, and every sunset color in between. They generally bloom from mid summer through fall, though some start as early as June. Full sun. Butterflies and birds love them, and they’re a great cut flower. There are too many varieties to choose a favorite, so we will do our best by first recommending a dwarf variety from ‘Burpee’, “Pow Wow White“. This variety is smaller at 18 inches, can be used in garden bed or containers, and has the most incredible pure white color, perfect for the vase!
We also love this large, free flowering variety called “Sombrero Baja Burgundy“. This variety grows to 2 feet, flowers all summer and makes one of the best cut flowers. Extremely heat resistant! This is a butterfly magnet too! You can find other coneflower varieties at ‘Burpee‘ too.
TGG Tip: Cut back old flowers a couple times a week, and you will be rewarded with many more blooms and a neater plant.
Russian Sage (Perovskia) Zones 4-9
We love Russian Sage and grow it quite prolifically in our gardens, and it is a tough, beautiful blue plant that should be a backbone of any drought tolerant landscaping. However, take note of the word “prolific”. The species can get quite large, quite fast, and you might find yourself cutting it back more often than you would like. (Which should be done in later fall, to within 1 foot of the ground). However, this dwarf variety “Peek-a Blue” lets you have all the advantages of this plant, with a little less of the only downside. Looks amazing next to Black Eyed Susan or with yellow Yarrow. Full sun, to mostly sunny. Blooms mid summer through fall.
TGG Tip: If you do get your hands on the larger version, and find that it it too big by mid summer, we found that if you cut it back by two thirds, it will quickly rebound and give you another bloom flush by late summer.
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) Zones 5-9
Ok, a lot of you are going to write us and tell us how this plant is a devil plant, sent to clog the streams and invade the ecosystem. First of all, if any plant is invasive to the point of being a danger to your community, obviously, don’t plant it. But for many areas, especially more arid ones in the west, butterfly bush is an amazing landscape plant that can offer substantial size and bloom in just one season. The butterflies and hummingbirds love it, and it’s gorgeous in bloom. Check out this rant on the controversy from, well, ‘Garden Rant‘ for more information!
So step one, check with your local nursery to find out if its invasive in your area. Then, make sure you plant a cultivar, not the species. You can even cut back the flowers before they go to seed to prevent spreading. Our choice? We love “Miss Molly” for its almost red blooms.
TGG Tip: These grow to 6 feet, but in late winter, they need to be cut back to 1-2 feet from the ground, Trust me, by June, you will never know, and it will repay you with a healthier plant with better blooms. Also, check out our post on DIY hummingbird feeders & nectar!
Coreopsis (Verticillata) Zones 3-9
Coreopsis is a happy and sunny daisy like flower for the garden, fine with hot, dry spots and blooming from spring through fall. Though several cultivars exist, including a pink one, we love “Early Sunrise” for it’s bright yellow, double blooms. Full sun to part sun, 18 inches tall. Deer resistant too! This one has a special place in my heart! It was the very first perennial I ever grew, and the amount of flowers you get is amazing.
TGG Tip: Instead of having to deadhead the old blooms one at a time, coreopsis will take a shearing back of one third of the plant with garden shears, then will quickly rebloom.
Beardtongue (Penstemon) Zones 5-9
Penstemon is a native wildflower, available in many cultivars in red, blues and pinks. A tubular flower over semi evergreen foliage makes this a winner in the drought resistant garden, and has won its share of coveted awards as well. Full to part sun, it likes well drained soil, and blooms all summer long. 18 inches to 2 1/2 feet high depending on variety, you will find hummingbirds can’t resist this beauty! Our favorite is “Carillo Red“. We’re guessing you didn’t realize there were so many gorgeous perennials for low water landscaping, right?
Wand Flower (Gaura) Zones 5-9
Gaura is one of our new favorite drought tolerant perennials, being used in our high desert area in high end gardens as elegant yet modern pops of color. Wand flower is aptly named, as these butterfly shaped flowers are held up to 3 feet high on long wand like stems all summer. Needs good winter drainage. Puts down a tap root, so make sure you are happy with their placement before they get established. “Whirling Butterflies,” seen below, is a mostly white variety with a touch of red on the sepal.
We love “Siskiyou Pink” and “RosyJane” (below) as well! Full sun to mostly sunny, the hummingbirds and butterflies love these drought resistant plants!
Drought tolerant perennial grasses
Ornamental grasses vary a lot, from thirsty sedges to drought tolerant fountain grass. Here are a couple of our favorites in this category.
Hameln (Pennisetum) fountain grass
Our pick for today is a fountain grass (Pennisetum) “Hameln”. Well behaved and neatly mounded with fine strappy foliage, this grass grows to 2 feet and sends up stalks of white plumes in early-mid summer. This drought tolerant perennial grass is an easy grower in full sun, and loves a hot, dry spot. This variety does not reseed. Zones 5-9. What’s not to love!
Lemongrass
For a drought tolerant grass that’s beautiful, repels pests, and happens to be edible, choose lemongrass! This plant does it all, and you’ll love the beautiful citrus scent it’ll bring to your yard. Who knows, this could be the start of an edible landscaping project for you!
Drought tolerant perennial ground covers
finding alternatives to grass and keeping every bit of your soil covered is especially important in arid environments. These plants will do just that and look great doing it!
Stonecrop (Sedum) Zones 4-9
Sedum is a drought tolerant perennial with fleshy leaves that tolerates low water landscaping well, and their flowers are star shaped beauties that cover the plants late summer through fall. There are two basic types, creeping sedums that make amazing ground covers, and upright sedums that are perfect garden plants to bring some freshness to the late summer garden. Full sun to part sun. Our favorite creeping variety is “Angelina”, which is a fresh green to yellow green, and has pretty yellowish flowers mid summer. Four inches high, this stuff spreads, but in a good way. Easy to pull out if is plants itself in unwanted areas, this delicate looking but tough as nails plant quickly makes a garden look established or covers bare ground.
“Angelina”
Upright varieties can remain well into early winter for four season interest, and the birds love them! Our upright choice is the old favorite “Autumn Joy “with a flat pink flowerhead, it grows to 2 feet. The flowers slowly turn to rust as the season progresses, and this looks amazing with ornamental grasses in the fall.
Creeping Thyme
Creeping thyme is another great ground cover to protect your soil in an arid environment. But that’s not all- it’ll produce adorable, tiny purple flowers too! This plant spreads rapidly, perfect to get a new garden established fast.
Drought tolerant shrubs and bushes
Let’s not forget that your drought tolerant landscaping could use some structure to anchor your low-water design! Use these shrubs and bushes to fill in space, create a backdrop for your flower beds, or maybe even provide privacy as a hedge!
Wormwood (Artemisia) Zones 4-9
Wormwood is one of those near perfect drought resistant plants. It is tolerant of low water, poor soil and high humidity. Wormwood’s ferny, grayish green leaves are the perfect backdrop for any flowering plant. Once established, Wormwood needs very little additional water, and is very pest resistant. Full sun to part shade, we love “Powis Castle” that grows into a mound to 3 feet high and wide. Aromatic.
TGG Tip: Flower stalks are insignificant, cut off any that appear. Photo from ‘Knibb Design‘.
Korean Boxwood
If you love the look of a boxwood, but need something a bit more resistant to low water environments, disease, and pests, this variety is your answer!
With these drought tolerant perennials you’re sure to create a gorgeous, drought tolerant yard. Do you have a favorite low water garden plant you want to share? Comment! And then check out our posts on How to Grow Lavender Like the French or How to Grow a Wildflower Garden.
I live in Fresno, where it can get extremely hot with little rain, and i’ve to say these are some really great garden ideas. Definitely will be using and sharing. Keep up the good work,
Thank you for your article. I enjoyed reading and learning from it. Have a wonderful day!
Made a list of everything you listed, thankful for some good advice on drought resistant plants. I will make copies for my sister and daughter. We live in South Texas and it can get very hot and dry.we also have deer problems. Great article and very informative.
I enjoy reading this. I have just beginning to garden so please bare with me. I don’t know zones yet. I live in Arizona if I’m not mistaken it is zone 3 but not sure would wormwood grow good here and if so how much room would I need to leave it to grow?
The best thing to do would be to call a local nursery and ask them your zone… And different varieties will have different growing sizes of wormwood. The variety we mention in the article is 3 feet X 3 feet, but there are smaller varieties… And unless you are up in the mountains most of Arizona is warmer than that… you can check your zone here… http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-arizona-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php
Love the flowers but what can be used if your are zone 2 and 3 with little moisture
Yarrow, purple coneflower, globe thistle and coreopsis can all be grown down to zone three and are drought resistant. Most plants can be pushed to grow in a lower zone with some protection as well. Hope this helps!
Thank you for your waterwise plant list. Are most of these plants also wind resistant ? In Cape Town we are having a major drought, great heat and then the extra drying strong South Easterly Summer wind blowing our gardens to shreds – in some areas.
Most waterwise plants are wind resistant because of the nature of their tougher leaves. Leaves that have to hold in water also tend to withstand wind. Hope that helps!
Hi, I live on a small Island, with deer [lots of deer] we call them our walking lawn ornaments ] and I have found following plants suffer little or no damage from their eating, they do however like to clean the velvet off occasionally on the bush. they are Helleborus, Pieris, Ajuga, Daffodils and Calla Lillies Hope this will help someone with deer around.
Hello. I enjoyed your article and plan to use many of these perennials. I have used rosemary successfully, mostly for its evergreen nature and deer resistance. Deer and extreme heat are the bane of my zone 9 garden. Do you have suggestions for deer resistant plants? Which of the perennials in the article are deer resistant (Buddleia is a staple for my yard). Thank you.
Hi Robin!
The Russian Sage, yarrow, penstemon, some ornamental grasses, wormwood and sedums are all deer resistant, and heat resistant! Hope this helps you!
most useful, thank you for the useful hints.
We live in a democratic world with all allowed an opinion …. I loved your polite response. …
Thank you Margaret! :)
Great article! I live in an area of sand…hard to grow anything because plants are also in full, intense sun all day throughout the summer. The ideas in this article are appreciated and I can’t wait to give them a try…..excited to begin.
Great article! The pictures and the plants are beautiful with great descriptions. I made a list and I will be checking with my local nursery. Thank you!
Great article! “It”or “it is” a great read!
Wow! OCD much? It always surprises me when people point out others mistakes especially those trivial ones that don’t matter all that much. All I can say is, it must get awful lonely way up there in the land of perfection all by yourself!!!
I had to stop reading because of the constant use of “it’s” for “its.” “Its” is possessive — “I love its scent,” for example. “It’s” is a contraction of “it is” — for example, “it’s time to eat.”
Thank you for pointing out the editing errors Catharine! We corrected the two errors in the article, but the rest are all grammatically correct according to your information… You are correct concerning the exception of “‘s” for a possessive adjective such as “its” , and we appreciate the heads up. However, consider that gardening is one of those activities that promises no perfection, and it’s a great lesson from nature… (Notice my use of “it’s” was correct that time!) Have a great Day Catharine!
Oh my gosh! I hate people who are so picky….. where’s the fun in that? Thank you for this article. I enjoyed it.
With this lady so upset about grammar I doubt her garden would have mischief luck growing?
Any luck growing!
agree :)
👏👏👏
Catharine,
Mistakes happen. Perhaps instead of sitting on your throne criticizing, you could see the value in the wonderfully written article. Who made you the grammar police?! LOL!
What is wrong with making some errors? Are you really so perfect to be bothered with her issues of using or not using proper English. For the sake of your sanity get a life!!!!!!!
how silly is this
I need your ideas and help
We donate our time at a cemetery in our home town that is on the National Historic Register
However funds are running very low due to tree removal from Emerald Ash Boar
Any way I have been asked to help beautify. I have 4 gardens with bad soil, two to three feet wide approx 16 ft long and are against a marble wall. Direct all day sun and tend to dry out badly.
We want colorful perennials heat tolerant obviously
I need ideas on what to plant
Also have deer,rabbbit,squirrel problems
Zone 4
Suggestions please???
A few come to mind… Black eyes Susan, Purple Coneflower coreopsis, Russian Sage and Yarrow… Yellows and purples look great together, the wildflower nature would compliment the historical site, and they are drought resistant. Keep in mind, no plant as deer and rabbit PROOF though… they might not prefer these, but they will eat anything if hungry enough! Good luck!