The Right-Size Flower Garden. Kerry Ann Mendez
Drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, cut flower, dried flower, no deadheading required, enjoyed by butterflies
I used to consider yarrow a messy thug. Most varieties were weak stemmed and prone to wandering (yellow flowering ‘Coronation Gold’ and ‘Moonshine’ were exceptions). All that changed when I became wooed by the ‘Seduction’ series. Strong, virile stems, erupting from neat foliage clumps, produce masses of handsome, repeat blooming flowers. ‘Sunny Seduction’ (yellow), ‘Peachy Seduction’ (peach), ‘Strawberry Seduction’ (red) and ‘Saucy Seduction’ (pink) will have you swooning. ‘Pomegranate’ is another lady killer with shimmering red flowers and all of ‘Seduction’s’ fine habits. (Pictured above: ‘Strawberry Seduction’.)
Additional fabulous perennial choices: false blue indigo (Baptisia), sedum, most ornamental grasses, peony, German bearded and Siberian iris, Russian sage (Perovskia), carnations (Dianthus) and lady’s mantle (Alchemilla).
Drought Tolerant Perennials for Part Shade to Shade
BARRENWORT
Epimedium
Zones 4 – 8 ♦ Part Shade to Shade
6" – 24" tall
Spring flowers: purple, yellow, white, pink, orange, bicolor
Attributes: Drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, foliage creates weed-smothering mat, good for erosion control, does well in shallow soils
Got maple trees? Get barrenwort. Barrenwort is a hardworking perennial that wins the wrestling match with tree and shrub roots for limited water and nutrients. Delicate flowers, adorning wiry stems, move gracefully in springtime breezes. It’s best to shear back the semi-evergreen leaves in late winter to fully appreciate the floral show. The elongated, heart-shaped leaves take on a lovely burgundy-red blush in spring and fall. Even better, the leaves form a reliable weed-suppressing mat. (Pictured above: ‘Bandit Plant Delight.’)
LENTEN ROSE
Helleborus
Zones 4 – 8 ♦ Part Shade to Shade
10" – 36" tall
Spring flowers: pink, red, purple, white, yellow, burgundy and bicolor
Attributes: Drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, enjoyed by bees, great leathery foliage that is evergreen or semi-evergreen, cut flower, container plant, can be planted under black walnut trees (per two great garden gurus, David Culp and Tony Avent).
Lenten rose is a shoo-in for 4 – 6 weeks of no-fuss color. It’s the perfect pick if you’re tired of losing spring blooming bulbs to munching varmints. Incredible hybridizing has generated a wide range of flower colors, as well as blooms that face downward, outward or upward. Multi-petaled selections in the ‘Winter Thrillers’ and ‘Winter Jewels’ series are making a big splash. Lenten rose are semi-evergreen or evergreen in winter, depending on your zone. Cut back old stems to the ground in late winter to put the spotlight on the emerging flowers. For a breathtaking display, combine with spring blooming ephemerals like Virginia bluebells (Mertensia), shooting star (Dodecatheon) and liverwort (Hepatica). (Pictured above: ‘Peppermint Ruffles’.)
SOLOMON’S SEAL
Polygonatum
Zones 2 – 8 ♦ Part Shade to Shade
2' – 3'+
Spring flowers: white
Attributes: drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, enjoyed by bees, fragrant flower, cut flower (foliage), container plant, can be used as a slow groundcover, pretty golden fall foliage, native to eastern and central North America
Elegant arching stems drip with white, bell-shaped flowers in spring, followed by blue-black berries. Unfortunately, the fruit doesn’t attract birds, and the berries are poisonous. Newer introductions have burgundy stems and stunning white and green leaves that quickly capture one’s attention, even in heavy shade. ‘Angel Wing’ and ‘Double Stuff’ are two such head-turners. Other unusual selections that I’ve grown are humile, a darling groundcover that only gets 6" - 9" tall, and biflorum var. commutatum (also called giganteum), a strapping 6' – 7'-tall specimen. (Pictured above: ‘Double Stuff’.)
FOAMFLOWER
Tiarella
Zones 4 – 9 ♦ Part Shade to Shade
8" – 12" tall
Spring flowers: white or pink
Attributes: Drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, enjoyed by bees, colorful foliage, container plant, can be used as a groundcover, native to North America
The fingerprint of most foamflowers is a dark, maroon-colored patch in the center of the leaf. Exquisite leaves are various shades of green and range in shape from slightly lobed to deeply divided. Foamy pink or white flowers cover the foliage mound in spring. ‘Cascade Creeper’ and ‘Sugar and Spice’ have some repeat bloom later in the summer. Foamflowers can be slow clump growers or ground-covers, depending on the cultivar. (Pictured above: ‘Sugar and Spice’.)
Other perennial choices: Hosta, some ferns (lady fern, male fern, sword fern), bugleweed (Ajuga, groundcover), Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) and bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum)
The biggest drinker in the garden. Since we’re on the subject of water requirements, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: our lawn. Lawns comprise the largest section of most residential properties and they consume the majority of water used by homeowners. According to the National Wildlife Federation: “Approximately 50 – 70 percent of our residential water is used for landscaping, most of it to water lawns, which total approximately 20 – 30 million acres in the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nearly 70 million pounds of active pesticide ingredients are applied to suburban lawns each year, helping to make polluted runoff the single largest source of water pollution nationwide, affecting ground water, lakes and streams, wildlife, and human health. And the use of gas-powered lawn mowers contributes five percent of the nation’s air pollution. A gas-powered lawnmower emits 11 times the air pollution of a new car.” If our water bill doesn’t cause us to rethink the lawn, perhaps the sheer weight of these numbers will.
A colorful groundcover of creeping thymes surrounds this urn of cascading flowers.
If you haven’t already put this book down to grab your spade, then do so now. I’ll wait as you go out and remove a chunk of lawn. Then consider adding remarkable, drought tolerant groundcovers (covered later in this book) instead. Or maybe you have more space to put in a meadow or wildflower garden? Your options may vary based on your residential setting and the size of your landscape, but you can do something.
FLOWERING SHRUBS