Drought Resistant Plants for Busy Garden Lovers – @the_mediterranean_gardener

The classic Mediterranean tree, with its lovely green foliage and interesting, gnarly trunks. Olives benefit from pruning late spring to early summer with an olive (or tomato) feed every six weeks to keep them happy.

Nothing beats the smell of lavender in the garden to evoke a real ‘holiday’ feel. It also works brilliantly in sensory gardens for children, as it’s hardy and can handle little fingers grabbing bits off without too much worry! I prefer Lavender Hidcote, as in my experience it’s the hardiest, but there are many varieties to choose from. Prune in late summer after flowering to stop it going leggy, and remember they have a shelf life of around ten years, so you may need to replace them in the future.

Another great sensory evergreen, and again hardy enough for little fingers! Trim back lightly every year after the flowers fade to keep them compact and encourage new foliage. Also watch out for Rosemary beetles that can appear in the Spring, and remove them if their numbers get too large.

I love this leafy evergreen with beautiful yellow heads in the Summer time, and bees do too. It provides large, interesting coverage in a border, you can hard prune in early Spring to stop it from getting too big.

Another classic Mediterranean plant, this one works great trained along a fence or up a pergola. Thin out the fruit in early Summer and trim back new shoots. Prune the wood in late Winter before the sap starts to flow in Spring.

All of these plants, while tolerating drought, will look their best with a weekly watering. Thankfully, Hozelock have a great system to help busy (or forgetful!) gardeners get that done– even while you’re away on holiday! Whether you’ve just got potted plants on a balcony, or a fully planted lawn and border, they have a watering kit to help. I personally love the select controller kit which when installed will water these drought tolerant plants every seven days.