by Vincent Quinn
If you want to grow perennials in a very sunny area, please consider a landscape plan that mainly focuses on the drought-tolerant plants and flowers. By using drought-tolerant plants and flowers, it will reduce money and time spent on irrigation.
In order for you to view the arrangement of perennial flowers in a drawing, a drought-tolerant landscape is included. This plan describes which perennials should be placed in the front row, back, row or middle row. The bed in this plan is approximately 15' long by 11' wide. Make sure to adjust the spacing to your own beds. The pictures of perennials that are included in this landscape plan are provided in the photo gallery at the top of the page.
All the distinguished writers of that period [the Renaissance] possess a greater vigor and naturalness than the more modern,—for it is allowed to slander our own time,—and when we read a quotation from one of them in the midst of a modern author, we seem to have come suddenly upon a greener ground, a greater depth and strength of soil. It is as if a green bough were laid across the page, and we are refreshed as by the sight of fresh grass in midwinter or early spring. You have constantly the warrant of life and experience in what you read. The little that is said is eked out by implication of the much that was done. The sentences are verdurous and blooming as evergreen and flowers, because they are rooted in fact and experience, but our false and florid sentences have only the tints of flowers without their sap or roots.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
Remember that many drought-tolerant plants can also take being in poor-to-average soil. Some of these even prefer poor soils. In addition to drought tolerance, these perennials were selected with an eye to soil-quality requirements. However, don't waste your valuable humus on these plants. These plants prefer soils that are well drained. The best thing for drainage is plain, old, infertile sand.
"Longwood Blue" bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Longwood Blue') is a perennial that is a drought-tolerant deciduous shrub. It reaches 3' x 4' feet tall and a spread of 2' x 4'. It is best grown in zones 5-9, but in zones five and six it should be treated as an herbaceous perennial. Make sure to cut above ground growth back in the wintertime. It is also called "blue mist" or "blue spirea." It has prominent features of fragrant blue flowers and its silvery-gray foliage. The flowering begins in the late summer and goes into autumn. They attract butterflies and it is a good choice for the back row in the bed of perennials.
"Autumn Joy" is a favorite perennial for the sun-battered gardens. Some gardeners want a more delicate looking garden and should plant "Moonbeam" coreopsis. A very popular choice for perennials in the "Autumn Joy" sedum (Sedum "Autumn Joy" or Hylotelephium "Autumn Joy"), also known as "stonecrop." This sedum is a favorite in rock gardens. Its foliage is full of succulent leaves in whorls. The leaves are sometimes variegated and can sometimes range in color from a bluish-green to greenish-yellowish to reddish-pink or almost off-white. However, this plant is not just a foliage plant. It can produce an unusual flower, but it is well worth the planting to see this flower grow. The sedum's flowers can be orange, red, yellow, or pink. The flowers usually bloom in clusters above the foliage. The zones that these flowers can be grown in are zones 3-9. The dimensions are approximately 2' x 2'. This flower is also very attractive to butterflies.
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
Moonbeam coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam') is one of the many thread leaf coreopsis varieties. It reaches 2' x 2'. It can produce bright clusters of light yellow, daisy-like flowers. This flower can be grown in zones 3-9. This plant can be invasive also. But like the next flower, purple coneflower, this plant is looked at as a favorite because of its long blooming period.
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) can be grown only in zones 3-8. This flower is a native of the Eastern U. S. It reaches 2' to 3' in height and 2' in width. It has daisy-like flowers. The flowers can range from purple to pink. If you divide this plant every few years, it will increase your stock and keep the plants healthy. The seeds of its "cone" are attractive to goldfinches. This plant is where you get an herbal remedy for cold and flu called "Echinacea supplement."
Lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) will provide great texture in rock gardens. This plant will spread readily. It is an invasive plant, but the quality is wonderful, if you don't mind it taking over your ground. It is not grown for its bloom, but lamb's ears does give light purple flowers on tall spikes. It is grown for its velvety texture on its silvery foliage. This flower is deer-resistant. Just like the bluebeard, coneflower, stonecrop, and coreopsis, this flower is an herbaceous perennial. This flower usually only reaches about 1' in height and only spreads to about 1' wide. Lamb's ears are a great choice for the front row of a perennial bed that is a multi-tiered bed.