Plants for Hot & Dry Conditions
Are you looking at a spot next to the driveway or sidewalk and wondering what on earth will last out there? Pool areas are notorious for needing plants that can deal with all day sun. Plants that can be completely abandoned to a spot like this may not give you the look you want. Here are a few that can handle hot, dry situations better than most and still show you the color and texture you want. (pictured: wisteria)
Annual Flowers
Angelonia
Cosmo
Gazania
Geranium
Lantana
Portulaca
Potato Vine
Salvia
Scaevola
Snapdragon
Verbena
Vinca
Zinnia
Perennial Flowers
Allium
Artemesia
Asclepias (milkweed)
Baptisia
Carex
Clematis
Coreopsis
Delosperma
Dianthus
Gaillardia
Gaura
Heliopsis
Lavender
Iris
Northern Sea Oats
Salvia
Sedge
Sedum
Veronica
Yarrow
Shrubs or Vines
Buddleia
Honeysuckle
Lilac
Rose
Rose of Sharon
Wisteria
Trees
Birch
Crabapple
Magnolia
Redbud
Plants for Damp Conditions
There are two options for wet areas of the garden. Either you can fix any drainage problems by installing raised bed areas or French drains. The other option has some very appealing solutions. The plants listed below won’t mind getting their feet wet from time to time and a few won’t even mind being wet all the time. Unfortunately, not too many annuals are really happy with this situation.
Perennial Flowers
Acorus (flag)
Ajuga
Asclepias
Astilbe
Bee Balm
Daylily
Ferns
Forget-Me-Not
Hosta
Houttuynia
Iris
Joe Pye Weed
Ligularia
Lily of the Valley
Liriope
Lobelia
Physostegia
Rose Mallow (perennial hibiscus)
Spiderwort
Sweet Woodruff
Tiarella
Toad Lily
Virginia Bluebell
Yellow Loostrife (purple is invasive in our region)
Shrubs & Vines
American Elderberry
Aronia
Beautyberry
Bottlebrush Buckeye
Clethra
Climbing Hydrangea
Forsythia
Fothergilla
Inkberry
Leucothoe
Redtwig Dogwood
Sweetshrub
Sweetspire
Trumpet Creeper
Trumpet Honeysuckle
Viburnum opulus
Winterberry
Wisteria
Witchhazel
Trees
Amelanchier
Dawn Redwood
Fringetree
Honey Locust
Magnolia
Pagoda Dogwood
Pawpaw
Red Maple
River Birch
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