These are the flowers that keep going when the weather turns hot and dry. Once established, they thrive with minimal watering and still deliver colour, texture and interest. Perfect for busy gardeners, sunny borders or anyone dealing with dry soil, they prove that resilience and beauty can go hand in hand.

Achillea summer berries in various shades including pink, red, and white.

Achillea

Commonly known as yarrow,Achilleais a resilient perennial herb (although we tend not to treat it as such) with fern-like foliage and clusters of small, daisy-like flowers in shades of white, pink, yellow, or red. Native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, it thrives in well-drained soil and full sun. Used in traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.

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Alyssum

Technically a perennial, Alyssum is treated as a hardy annual smothered in tiny blooms, much loved by insects. It is capable of surviving light frosts than could kill more tender plants. With its beautiful clusters of rounded fragrant flowers it has 4 small petals, and are very effective when lots are planted together.

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Calendula

Easy-to-grow hardy annuals flower from summer through to early autumn, making them a great choice for summer borders and containers. The flowers are good for cutting, have edible petals and are also used by herbalists to make skincare products. Plants often self-seed from year to year. Calendulas are unfussy plants that do well in most ordinary garden soil, including poor, dry soil. They flower best in full sun, but also tolerate light shade.

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Cosmos

Cosmos will put on a continuous display throughout the summer months and well into autumn, standing on tall, slender stems which sway in the breeze creating that gorgeous soft and floaty effect. Perfect for a sunny spot in any mixed planting scheme, not only will they look great in the garden and be beneficial to pollinators, but they make lovely cut flowers too. Despite their delicate looks, these plants are pretty tough and will stay standing in rain or a drought.

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Craspedia

As well as being a favourite among florists, Craspedia is also becoming increasingly well known as a garden plant. It bears dense, yellow, spherical flowerheads, at the top of stiff stems emerging from basal rosettes of narrow foliage. There are several species available, though Craspedia globosa is the most widely cultivated. 

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Gaura

It's easy to see why Gaura lindheimeri holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit. With it’s slender, arching stems tipped with panicles of rosy pink buds opening to reveal white flowers, this plant blooms over an incredibly long period. The delicate flowers attract pollinating insects to the garden and bring movement to borders with its loose, wafty habit. Gauras are easy as long as you remember that they are prairie plants from a warm place, mulching helps to protect from severe winters. Mature gauras do not move well. 

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Gazania

Gazania, also known as treasure flowers for their jewel bright blooms, are fantastic for bringing colour to patios and sunny borders. Grown as annuals their daisy-type flowers love sunshine and if they don't get enough of it, will close up. The blooms come in shades of rose, red, pink, bronze, gold and orange and are set off by the cool green foliage.

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Lavender

Growing Lavender plants from seed can be a rewarding and fun way to add this fragrant herb to your garden. Lavender seeds are slow to germinate and plants grown from them may not flower in the first year, but if you’re patient and willing to put in the work, you can generate beautiful plants from seeds. Your first year of growth will not be impressive, but by year two, expect to have large, blooming lavender.

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Mesembryanthemum

Mesembryanthemum is an easy to grow annual bedding flower which produces colourful blooms throughout the summer. The daisy like flowers come in shades of red, magenta, pink, yellow, white and orange and open with the sun each day and turn to face it moving across the garden. Can tolerate drought and sandy soil and is a useful plant to brighten up rock gardens, walls and paths.

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Nepeta

Nepeta, also known asCatmint, is an attractive, hardy and easy-to-grow flowering perennial, renowned for its aromatic foliage which tends to attract cats, hence its name. Its aromatic leaves are green or grey-green and its stems are clothed from summer to autumn in small mauve or blue flowers. Cats can safely nibble and eat catmint leaves, stems and flowers – indeed many cat toys are stuffed with dried catmint leaves. Some cats love it so much they roll around and sleep on the plants.

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Drought Tolerant Beauties to grow from seed

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