Planting for drought: nine borders that thrive on less water

Hotter, drier summers are now part of the gardening year. The good news is that some of the most beautiful borders you can plant are also the most resilient — and they barely need watering at all.

For all the worry about a changing climate, drought-tolerant planting is one of the great pleasures of the modern garden. The plants that cope best with heat and dry soil tend to be aromatic, silver-leaved, and alive with pollinators — the very things that make a border sing on a summer evening. Here is how to build one that thrives on neglect.

Start with the soil

Counter-intuitively, the secret to a drought-tolerant border is good drainage rather than rich, moisture-holding soil. Most Mediterranean plants rot in wet ground over winter. Work in plenty of grit on heavy soils, raise the bed if you can, and top it off with a gravel mulch, which keeps roots cool, suppresses weeds, and stops the crowns sitting in damp.

Nine plants to build around

For structure and scent, reach for lavender, rosemary, and santolina. For color through the heat of summer, plant salvias, perovskia, and the airy spires of verbena bonariensis. And for late drama, add sedum, achillea, and the great architectural seed heads of an ornamental grass like stipa. Plant them close, in generous drifts, and they will knit together into a border that needs no irrigation.

The first year is the only hard part

Even drought-tolerant plants need watering while their roots establish. Plant in autumn or spring, water them in well, and keep an eye on them through their first summer. After that, you can largely leave them to it — and enjoy a border that hums with bees and asks almost nothing of you in return.