Picking the right plants for a drought tolerant landscape comes down to more than choosing things that don't need much water. Sun exposure, soil, how big a plant gets at maturity, and how it pairs with what's already in your yard all factor in. We work with partner nurseries across California to source the right species for your space and install them as part of your landscape. Below is a look at the categories we draw from most often.

Drought Tolerant Ground Cover

A good ground cover does double duty. It fills in bare soil so weeds have less room to take hold, and it holds up through a dry, hot summer without browning out. Options we work with include rockrose, moss phlox, winecups, lantana, wild lilac, bearberry, wild strawberry, and other native varieties.

Drought Resistant Trees

Trees do a lot of work in a landscape beyond looking good. They provide shade, act as a windbreak, and give a yard some vertical structure once everything else is established. Drought tolerant trees we recommend include Western sycamore, Pacific wax myrtle, coast live oak, Fremont cottonwood, and California bay laurel.

Drought Tolerant Shrubs

Shrubs are usually what fill out the middle layer of a planting bed, between ground cover and trees. We install California redbud, Cleveland sage, coffee berry, and Ceanothus 'Concha' often, and can source other varieties to match the look or theme you're after.

Drought Resistant Flowers and Perennials

A xeriscape doesn't have to mean giving up color. With the right plant combinations, you can have a garden that blooms most of the year on very little supplemental water. Annuals we use include cosmos, cypress vine, poppies, strawflower, zinnia, verbena, angelonia, alyssum, tithonia, and gazania. Perennials include butterfly bush, gaura, evening primrose, yarrow, gaillardia, and yellow coreopsis.

Drought Tolerant Shade Plants

Not every part of a yard gets full sun, and shade plants let you treat those spots as a design feature instead of a dead zone. We recommend natal bottlebrush, California honeysuckle, sticky monkey flower, coyote mint, witch hazel, California peony, hummingbird sage, canyon sunflower, and clematis depending on how much shade the area gets.

A Lawn Alternative That Doesn't Need Mowing

A lot of the cost of maintaining a lawn isn't the water, it's the upkeep: mowing every week, edging, fertilizing, the whole routine. Our "no mow" lawn package replaces that with Native MowFree grass sod, which can go in on almost any property and doesn't need regular mowing at all. An occasional trim with a string trimmer or weed eater, once or twice a year, is about all it takes. Because it's drought tolerant on top of that, this lawn alternative can cut water use by up to 75% compared to a standard turf lawn.

Let's Find the Right Plants for Your Yard

Whatever your yard needs, from a handful of accent plants to a full plant palette for a new design, our team can help you choose species that fit your space and get them installed properly. If the project is bigger than plants alone, our drought tolerant landscaping service will cover the full design and installation side of things. When you're ready to get started, visit our Contact page for a free estimate, or call Mystic Water Gardens at 818-424-6836.