Can I grow normal plants in a dry area?

 Growing most plants in dry soil conditions is hardly ever successful, not sustainable and at the very least will be very time-consuming requiring gallons of water and a lot of time spent watering.

This in itself is not Eco friendly and not a long-term solution anyway, as regular watering only encourages the plant's roots to stay shallow instead of going deeper into the ground seeking water for themselves.

The plant then becomes dependent on your watering schedule.  Great if you have a need to be needed, but not so great if you want to get away for a few days or we have a hosepipe ban. 

However, there are some plants that are naturals for living in dry conditions.

So grow plants that will tolerate dry conditions, the plants nature has designed that way.

Plants that grow in dry conditions.

Plants from hotspots in drier parts of the world have evolved to grow and thrive in dry conditions and will survive our dry British summers.

Most drought tolerant plants especially the Mediterranean natives, have silver or grey-green leaves to reflect the harsh rays of the sun and some have fine hairs on there leaves or stems, to trap moisture around the plant tissues. They also develop deep root systems that penetrate deep into the ground to reach water reserves.

Selecting plants for planting in dry areas can be easy, if a plant has silver or grey-green leaves that are either woolly or aromatic it will usually thrive in dry soil in full sun.

Examples of plants that grow well in dry gardens:

Lavender, Rosemary, Santolina, Thyme, Cistus, Sage, Phlomis, most Chilleas and Artemisia.

Types of plants that have evolved to tolerate dry soil conditions.

• Plants that store water either in there leaves and stems like Succulents and sedums tolerate long periods of drought thanks to their plump foliage or stems. 
• The ones that grow from underground tubers, bulbs or rhizomes. 
• Plants that develop long tap roots for tapping into moisture underground. Plants such as verbascums, many poppies, acanthus, lupins, hollyhocks and umbellifers 
• Mexican dahlias, salvias, penstemons and gaura from inner North America has also evolved to survive drought. 
• Fluffy pennisetums and fine-leaved stipas, both highly ornamental grasses, also thrive.
• South African plants enjoy the heat, but they also need rain so, although crocosmias, agapanthus, dieramas and kniphofias will survive hot summers, they will probably produce fewer flowers.

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