There is a good range of plants available that, once established, will be far hardier to withstand dry summer conditions than others.
If your property is on lighter soils, such as sandy, these sorts of plants are a definite.
The right plant in the right spot will give a garden that will thrive for years, providing great aesthetic value, as well as environmental benefits.
To ensure success, thorough preparation should be done when planting. These steps are simple but will make the difference between a job done once or a job that has to be done again.
Dry-loving garden plants you should consider;
Bottlebrush (callistemon) is a plant that thrives in dry, sunny areas of the garden.
There are a number of varieties that grow to different heights, suitable for small or large garden situations.
My favourites that do well in drier gardens are callistemon: Red Clusters (med-lge growing), Little John (small-growing) and John Mashlan (bright-pink flowers).
Callistemon Red Clusters has stunning bright-red flower spikes that cover the plant in abundance during spring and summer, though it usually has a few flowers on it throughout the year. This variety grows about 3m high.
Callistemon Little John is a compact, dwarf-growing bottlebrush.
It only grows around 1m x 1m so is suitable for smaller gardens and shrub plantings.
It is often used in traffic islands and other public areas where growing conditions are tough.
It produces masses of deep-red flower brushes tipped gold, mainly through spring and early summer, with occasional blooms almost year-round.
Callistemon John Mashlan is a compact, upright bush producing masses of candy floss-pink bottlebrush flowers during spring to summer. It is hardy and tolerant of dry situations once established, best in full sun and well-drained soils and grows to about 2x2m.
Strappy-leaved plants such as flaxes, dianella and lomandra are useful in dry environments and can add colourful contrast and structure to a garden.
These look good when used with the smaller-growing grass varieties.
Species such as the mini toe toe and the brilliant orange-foliaged Carex testacea provide excellent landscaping opportunities when used in groups of three, or in larger mass plantings, with the colours of the grasses contrasting against one another.
Lomandra grasses have come to recognition in New Zealand in the last few years.
They are being valued for their general hardiness, the attractive form and structure they can bring to a garden through the movement they offer in the wind, the range of colours that are available and the ease of care.
Lomandra grasses are generally “self-cleaning”, meaning old foliage shrivels and disappears from the plant rather than “hanging on” and needing to be removed by hand for the plant to look good.
Where many plantings have been made in the past with Carex-type grasses, the lomandra are now being used to great effect with a much lower maintenance requirement.
The standout varieties would have to be Lime Tuff, Nyalla, Tanika and Frosty Tops.
Lime Tuff has a spiky, fresh-green appearance and its growth and survival in tough situations can best be described bulletproof.
It grows to a useful 50cm x 50cm size in sun or part-shade situations.
In the summer months it produces sweetly fragrant flower spikes that sit down among the foliage.
This plant can be used to a highly attractive effect planted among a larger-growing, darker-coloured flax.
As well as being a garden specimen often planted in groups of threes, fives or more, Lime Tuff is also the perfect pot specimen.
Being so drought-tolerant, it is great for the sunny patio or outdoor living area.
Nyalla is very similar in its hardiness. In appearance it has a soft bluey-green hue and it is slightly taller-growing, to about 80cm.
Tanika is soft-green in colouring and is soft to touch. It has a compact form, growing to about 50-60cm high by 65cm wide.
Frosty Tops has soft, arching foliage with fine, grey-green foliage and silver-frosted new growth. It grows to approximately 50cm x 50cm.
A favourite for coastal gardens is a dwarf variety of pōhutukawa called Meterosideros Tahiti.
This plant grows approximately 1m by 1m and has brilliant orange-red flowers during summer and into the autumn.
It makes an excellent plant in the garden or in pots and handles the tough conditions we are talking about today.
Another of the best performing small growing plants for dry areas is the “Morning glory”, Convolvulus cneorum, not to be confused with the problem convolvulus weed.
This plant is not invasive, it is a plant that offers almost year-round colour – it is seldom without a flower.
White trumpet flowers are 3-4cm across with bluish tinge, shaded yellow in the throat.
It grows 60cm high by 1m wide, the foliage is a stunning silvery-grey.
A family of NZ natives that perform well in the drier environment are the coprosmas.
Coprosmas have many varieties that excel in dry, hot conditions.
They also attract the birds with the berries that develop each year. The range of varieties is diverse, with a number of colourfully leaved shrubs growing about 1m-1.5m high.
There are many coloured varieties including Evening Glow, Lemon & Lime, and one of my favourites, Wendy.
Coprosma Wendy is a stunning native evergreen and foliage is a blend of various colours, pinks, red, orange and yellow.
As the weather cools heading into winter, the colours intensify. It is a good coastal plant growing approximately 1.5m high x 1m wide.
There are also a number of varieties with “divaricating”-type foliage. This is typified by small leaves on branches that have a tangled appearance.
Coprosma taiko is a good one to grow in the home garden, with tiny green leaves on blackish stems offering an attractive appearance that can be used to good visual effect when contrasted with other plants.
It has a spreading habit and is excellent for holding sand and banks together in harsh conditions.
Other similar varieties are Hawera and Acerosa.
A NZ native tree that thrives in dry conditions is the pōhutukawa; these are certainly one of the most popular when a large tree is needed.
Other NZ natives include some of the Pseudopanax varieties and Griselinia.
There are a number of other plants that originate from hot dry climates of Australia and South Africa that are suited to these garden situations. Some of these include: leucadendrons, protea, banksia, westringia and grevillea to name a few.
I also haven’t managed to mention ceanothus, rock rose, escallonia and feijoa varieties that do well in the coastal and dry environment too.
So don’t despair if you have had a few failures in a dry situation – there is quite a variety of things you can grow.
Many of these plants are attractive to birds, providing both flowers containing nectar, and good foliage cover in which to nest as well as inhabit.
Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre.
