As the climate becomes drier, new habits are required in the garden, including the planting of very drought-resistant plants. The camel plants we present here, once well installed, can resist several weeks without water. Adopt them, you will save on watering while preserving the environment!
1- Mascarene grass
Better known as 'Mascarene grass' this plant is ideal to replace the lawn in Mediterranean area even in full sun. Requiring no watering, it is an interesting alternative to obtain a beautiful velvety green carpet thanks to its tracing roots. Prefer to plant it in rolls rather than in cups to obtain a lawn quickly because this plant is slow growing, which is an advantage when it comes to mowing. Hardy up to -10°C, it should be reserved for well sheltered gardens. It is ideal for seaside gardens as it is not affected by sea spray or wind.
2- Garden thorn
Very hardy, this beautiful and fat plant likes most dry and well drained soils. Named 'Garden Ornamental', this sedum produces magnificent pink, white or purple inflorescences depending on the cultivar from August to October, which allows it to take over from the summer blooms in sunny beds or rock gardens. Vigorous, rarely visited by parasites, it is to be advised to the beginners gardeners who, with him, will ensure a full success.
3- Yarrow
There are many species and cultivars of yarrow, these plants with very cut green/grayish foliage. Growing up to 1.2 m high, it is ideal as a backdrop to a bed or in flowerbeds, but you can also use it in fallow areas because its inflorescences attract not only pollinating insects but also gardeners' helpers from July to September. The many cultivars offer white, pink, yellow, or salmon flowers. This hardy perennial plant spontaneously resprouts, so take advantage of it!
3- Euphorbia of the scrubland
The Euphorbia of the scrublands is a much sought-after plant to bring contrast and create a link between the various plants of the bed. Graphic, slender (1 m in all directions), it forms splendid clumps with linear bluish foliage. At the top of the stems, original inflorescences of a beautiful bright green appear from March until July. Again, there are many cultivars that can be adapted to all situations as long as the soil is well drained.
4- Yucca
Easy to grow, this plant grows very quickly even from a cutting as long as it finds the heat and well drained soil it needs. This beautiful perennial is known for its tufts of leathery leaves often carried by a branched woody stipe. There are more than 50 species of yucca, some very hardy like Yucca gloriosa (-20°C) or Yucca glauca (-30°C), as long as the roots are not in contact with stagnant humidity.
Very graphic, the yucca can find its place in a rock garden or as an isolated subject to be admired at its true value, it also works wonders in exotic groves and can be grown in a container on a terrace.
5- Monk's pepper
Monk's pepper is a Mediterranean shrub that grows without worry and is very resistant to drought. Otherwise known as 'Gattilier', it can be used in mixed hedges or groves but also as a background in beds.
Growing up to 3 m high, its glaucous green palmate foliage is covered with spikes of blue flowers in late summer. The fruits that follow them can be harvested and used as a pepper substitute. Hardy up to -15°C, it can be considered in most gardens in stony, very drained and poor soil. In phytotherapy, it is used to regulate the menstrual cycle.
6- Angel hair
Very popular with landscapers, this grass, otherwise known as 'angel hair', forms clumps of thin, glaucous green leaves tinged with light brown. If your soil is stony, poor and dry, it will do well in your home. Ideal in beds surrounded by a beautiful mineral mulch, but also to create wild areas or borders with a moving charm, this plant is hardy up to -20°C and displays silky bearded inflorescences in summer.
7- Flat-leaved panicaut
We rarely think of installing a thistle in our garden, yet the flat-leaved panicaut is a splendid subject with an erect habit and bluish evergreen foliage. It offers a breathtaking spectacle from July to October when it is covered with inflorescences that are as ovoid as they are disheveled and of a surprisingly beautiful electric blue. Frost resistant down to -17°C, this beautiful thistle will be admired in sunny rock gardens or in beds but only if the soil is very drained and poor.
8- Russian sage
This beautiful shrub of more than 1 m in all directions presents a very ornamental silvery foliage that its azure blue flowering stems will complete during all summer and until the first frosts. Hardy, never diseased or affected by parasites, Russian sage is equally charming in beds, flowerbeds or rock gardens. Easy to grow and fast growing, it likes most soils, resists pollution, wind and sea spray and requires only annual pruning at the end of winter.
9- Rosemary
Our good old rosemary is an indispensable plant in the garden where it forms a beautiful bush that can reach more than 1.5 m high. It can be used in low hedges, in borders of paths, but also in rock gardens. There is a creeping variety which will cover your rockery with brilliance, coating the stones wonderfully. The long-lasting blue flowers attract pollinating insects at the end of winter. This aromatic plant is prized for its flavor in cooking but also as a medicinal plant for its tonic effect.
10- Plant of the savourers
Proud of its excellent hardiness and tolerance to all types of soils and exposures, Bergenia is an indispensable plant in the garden even if it has gradually fallen into disuse despite all its qualities. Its large, green foliage turns bronze and then purple in winter and serves as a backdrop for pink bouquets in spring. It finds its place in all gardens thanks to its excellent hardiness and its resistance to drought.
