Drought - Tolerant Beauty

Faced with hot, dry summers, this gardener has created a resilient garden filled with tough plants.

- Sherri Ribbey

Tough spot Prairie grasses, native perennials and other drought-tolerant plants that tolerate hot, dry summers fill this border.

Designing a Beautiful Berm

Starting a garden from scratch is a big challenge. But it was one that garden designer Rebecca Sweet looked forward to when she and her husband, Tom Urban, moved to Granite Bay, California, 7 years ago. The 1-acre property had plenty of room and potential, so she brought a rental truck full of plants from the old garden and started ticking off others that had been on her wish list. Rebecca was excited to experiment with new plants and design combinations in her zone 9 garden to find the ones that are tough and resilient. She shares the results with her clients as well as those following her blog, Harmony in the Garden (harmonyinthegarden.​com).

SUNNY SLOPE It can be hard to know where to begin when the whole yard needs work. So Rebecca started with the large berm next to the driveway because it was well defined and the area she sees most often. The 6-foot-tall southwest-facing berm in photos 2 and 3 is one of the hottest spots in the yard-it's in full sun with lots of reflected heat from the driveway. This region can go without rain for months, and temperatures regularly reach 110 degrees F in summer, so plants growing in this spot have to be tough.

Rebecca found the stones in the yard and likes the color, shape and texture they add to the border.

'Long John' grevillea and 'Wynyabbie Highlight' westringia are up to the task. They provide screening and have colorful flowers and foliage all summer. Low-growing 'Mt. Tamboritha' grevillea helps soften the hard lines of the curb.