Plants for Dry Soils

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Dry soils can also be hungry soils. If soil is dry because it is very free draining then plant foods will tend to wash out of the surface layers as well. Add nutrients in the form of organic mulches rather than in liquid or powder form. Add food in spring and summer not autumn and winter.

Dry soils can be good for winter tender plants as they are less likely to rot but dry sandy soils can be more prone to air frosts as they cool more rapidly on clear winter nights.

If your soil is claggy or boggy you will need to improve drainage to grow some of these plants. Dig deeply to breakup compacted soil, add compost and lots of grit, raise soil level above water table. Plant on top of a bed of gravel.

Many of the plants in our range are tolerant of dry conditions but I have picked out a few that really do well in bone dry soils - some in sun, some in shade.

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Achillea "Moonshine" Luminous yellow flowers and soft silver-grey foliage. 2ft / 60cm tall. Flowers May to August.

A hybrid between A. clypeolata and A. taygetea raasied and introduced by Alan Bloom.

RHS Award of Garden Merit

Agastache "Golden Jubilee":

Golden yellow leaves that turn to a more lime-green by the end of summer. Mauve-blue flowers. 2ft - 2ft 6in tall.

Please note our plants are grown from seed.

Agastache rugosa Liquorice Blue:

One of the best flowering plants for dry, difficult soils, even growing and flowering well right at the base of our laurel hedge. Typical bubblemint flowers and mint-scented leaves. About 2ft - 2ft 6in tall.

Will self seed but never enough!

Catananche caerulea:

Lovely blue flowers with deeper violet centres and silver bracts, held well on wiry stems. About 2ft tall. Flowers throughout the summer.

Catananche caerulea Bicolor:

Violet flushed white flowers throughout the summer. About 2ft tall.

Dianthus "Bailey's Celebration" : Pale pink flowers splashed with raspberry. Very good scent. 1ft.

Dianthus "Devon Wizard": Strong magenta flowers, bushy plants and scent that fills the garden on a warm day. The best of border the pinks. RHS Award of Garden Merit

Dianthus "Moulin Rouge": Laced petals - magenta over soft pink. Strong clove perfume. 1ft. RHS Award of Garden Merit

Elymus magellanicus: A lovely blue-silver grass forming neat clumps and growing to about 2ft / 60cm tall.

It makes an excellent foil for bright coloured flowers as well as silvers and pinks.

Grows in sun or very light shade and is drought tolerant. It will very gently self seed (perhaps half dozen seedlings per plant).

Also known as Agropyron magellanicum and Leymus magellanicus.

Not be to confused with Lime Grass (Elymus arenius) which is quite invasive.

For any garden visitor in 2011 who was disappointed that we'd sold out, we will do growing more this year!

Erodium petraeum.

Low mounds of finely divided leaves and masses of pink veined flowers throughout the Summer and Autumn. Best in a well drained soil but pretty accommodating for us. The distinctive darker blotch on the top two petals only shows up well when grown in full sun. Originates from Southern France and Northern Spain.

Gaillardia aristata "Maxima Aurea": Tall shining gold with extra large flowers reaching about 2ft 9in tall

Gaillardia "Fackelschein" ("Torchlight"): Banded red-yellow bi-colour reaching about 2ft 6in tall with strong, self-supporting stems. Flowers for an incredibly long time (if dead headed); starting in early June and still going just as strongly at the end of October. One of the most admired plants in our garden this year.

Gaillardia grandiflora Amber Wheels: Large amber yellow flowers with golden centres on stiff stems about 2ft tall.

Gaillardia grandiflora "Burgunder"
("Burgundy"): As the name suggests a beautiful deep rich burgundy red reaching about 2ft tall

Gaillardia grandiflora Tokajer: Orange flowers with yellow edges. 2ft 6in tall.

Geranium dalmaticum: Glossy leaves and pink flowers in late spring, a favourite with bumblebees. Makes a spreading mat. A favourite with the bees!

Geranium dalmaticum Album: Pure white version of the species that is a little less vigorous.

Geranium macrorrhizum "Album": Scented leaves, white flowers with pink stamens in May - June.

From Bulgaria originally.

RHS Award of Garden Merit

Geranium macrorrhizum Czakor: Exceptionally aromatic leaves. Bright magenta flowers May to June.

Geranium macrorrhizum "White-Ness": Discovered on an expedition by Ness Botanic Gardens, this form has pure white flowers over a very long period - even carrying some flower into the autumn. Unlike other varieties, the leaves are glossy and are not aromatic leading me to suspect it is cross with another species.

Geranium sanguineum Album: Pure white version of this lovely mat forming plant. Rather more upright than other types

Geranium sanguineum Elsbeth: Bright purple, large flowers.

Geranium sanguineum Glenluce: Pale rose pink variety discovered by A T Johnson in 1937 growing near Glenluce in Scotland.

Geranium sanguineum John Elsley: Mat forming plants with veined bright magenta flowers.

Geranium sanguineum Max Frei: Deep rose pink flowers.

Geranium sanguineum Nyewood: Light purple flowers

Geranium sanguineum Striatum: Pale pink flowers with deeper rose veins in early summer and again in autumn.

Geranium sanguineum Vision Violet: Violet flowers as you might expect.

Helictotrichon sempervirens "Pendulum": Evergreen grass with graceful, pendulous flower heads in late Spring. Flowering height about 2ft 6in - 3ft, the spiky grey-green leaves reach about 1ft 6in in our garden. Completely hardy and trouble free.

Cool season grass - therefore can be divided in spring or autumn.

Lychnis coronaria Alba (AGM): Grey, felted leaves form a neat rosette. The 2ft grey stems are smothered with white flowers from early summer. Deadhead to prevent self seeding. Short-lived unless renewed by division regularly. RHS Award of Garden Merit

Lychnis coronaria Alba with Salvia patens Dot's Delight in our garden.

Lychnis coronaria Atrosanguinea: For some strange reason not awarded an AGM by the RHS. Lovely deep red-magenta flowers.. Deadhead to prevent self seeding. Short-lived unless renewed by division regularly.

Lychnis coronaria Gardener's World: A fully double variety in the same colour as Atrosanguinea. Much admired and sought after. Doesn't seem to set seed so propagation is by careful division or fairly tricky cuttings.

Nepeta govaniana: Unusually for a Nepeta this one loves a fairly shady spot, tending to scorch in hot sun. The soft lemon, hook-shaped flowers dance on 2ft 6in stems throughout the summer.

Nepeta racemosa "Amelia": Obtained from an avid collector of Nepeta. Lovely grey-blue foliage and dusky pink flowers in summer. Makes a lovely arching mound. Flowers all summer and into the autumn. About 2ft tall only.

Osteospermum "Lady Leitrim": An old variety that is bone hardy. We got it from Martin's mum and she got it from her Gran's garden. Flowers open chalky white and gain a pink flush as they age. The pink is more pronounced in cool weather. Sprawling plants reaching only 8-12in tall but spreading up to 2ft 6in across. Excellent in poor, dry soil. Flowers May onwards. In a mild winter will still be in flower after Christmas.

Perovskia "Blue Spire": Fine, feathery, silver-grey foliage and spikes of lavender blue flowers from midsummer onwards. Good bee plant. Very drought tolerant. 3ft tall.

Perovskia "Little Spire": Shorter version of the above - only 1ft 6in - 2ft tall.

Phlomis russeliana: Heart-shaped, felted, mid-green, wintergreen leaves form weed-smothering clumps about 30cm tall and up to 45cm across. The candelabra flower stem grow to 75-90cm tall and bear yellow hooded flowers between May and July. The seed heads last through the winter and look great when dusted with frost. Remove the seed heads in February unless you want plenty of self-seeds.

Really spectacular clumps of this plant can be seen at The Dorothy Clive Garden.

Salvia argentea leaf detail © 2007 SpecialPerennials.com All Rights Reserved

Salvia argentea flower detail © 2007 SpecialPerennials.com All Rights Reserved

Salvia argentea AGM: Large sliver grey leaves and lilac flushed, white flowers held in whorls around 2ft 6In / 75cm tall stems. Will self seed, but will be short lived (i.e. usually dies!) if allowed to set seed. Pretty hardy, although the leaves are killed by frost. Its best to cut them away when the weather warms up to avoid rotting of the rootstock. In the hard winters of 2008/9 and 2009/10 about 75% of ours came okay in well-drained soil.

RHS Award of Garden Merit (H3).

Sedum "Bertram Anderson": Border Sedum (2ft) with deep plum flowers flowers in late summer and autumn. Black-red leaves all year.

Pictured here with Molinia Windspiel

Sedum "Matrona": Border Sedum (2ft) with creamy pink flowers in late summer and autumn

RHS Award of Garden Merit

Sedum "Purple Emperor": Purple-red foliage with pink-purple flowers from August onwards. Low growing, 1ft high in flower.

RHS Award of Garden Merit

Seseli gummiferum:

Common Name: Moon Carrot from the moon shaped flower head. A lovely biennial / short-lived perennial liking well-draied but fertile soil in sun. About 3ft tall in flower.

Stipa gigantea : Common Names: Giant Spanish Oats, Giant Feather Grass.

Large clumps of stiff green leaves forming clumps up to 3ft across and 2ft 6in high and masses of tall, elegant flower spikes with dancing oat flowers in summer, lasting through winter. Up to 6ft high in flower. Hardy and drought tolerant. An excellent back drop for many plants. Looks stunning when the evening sun catches the flower heads.

See more about the winter interest of this plant in our garden diary for January 2010

£8.00 (2lt pot)