My Top Picks for Easy & Beautiful Drought-Tolerant Plants

Hyssop/Hummingbird mint (Agastache) is one of my most favorite flowers. It comes in a variety of colors and smells SO good. The tubular flowers attract hummingbirds probably more than any other flower in my yard.

Learn about agastache care and cultivars at High Country Gardens.

Milkweed (Asclepias) is of particular importance as it is the sole food source for monarch caterpillars. This is especially vital when considering the monarch population has declined by 90% since 1997. Be sure to watch for monarch eggs on the underside of leaves.

Popular varieties include pink-bloomed showy milkweed (A. speciosa), shown below; swamp milkweed (A. incarnata), and butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) with orange blooms (pictured on left).

Coneflower (Echinacea) blooms come in a daisy-like form, but with a much more prominent center. Flowers are most commonly found in purple, but cultivars can be pink, red, orange, white, yellow, and even green. The seedheads are a great food source for birds during the colder months. Make sure to check the mature plant size on the tag, as some varieties grow quite tall while others stay more compact.

Find coneflower care information here.

Tickseed (Coreopsis) are happy flowers that are almost always solid yellow or gold, although I have seen a variety with red centers and another with pink blooms.

Keeping the plant deadheaded will ensure continuous blooms throughout the summer season.

‘Moonbeam‘ coreopsis is a nice variation from most other cultivars. It has small delicate flowers and thready foilage.

Learn more about coreopsis care here.

Russian sage (Perovskia) is a contender for the top bee attractor. From summer until frost, the long silvery purple flower spikes of this plant are swarming with pollinators. These blooms also give the garden a great burst of texture.

The base of the plant is woody, and it can grow quite large so plan accordingly when planting. The biggest downside to Russian sage is that it does like to send out new plants, which isn’t a problem if you get them early, otherwise they root deeply. This characteristic turns many people off of this plant, but because of its appearance and superb pollinator food source, I’ve always been a fan.

Learn more about growing Russian sage here.

Catmint (Nepeta) is not to be confused with catnip–this plant does not attract cats. Its purple blooms are somewhat similar to Russian sage and also popular with bees and butterflies.

It is one of the earliest bloomers of these perennial flowers, starting in mid to late spring, making it a great early season pollinator plant. If you shear back the first round of growth it will bloom through the fall.

‘Walker’s Low‘ is a sizable catmint; for a smaller version try ‘Little Trudy‘.

Learn more about catmint care here.

Bee balm (Monarda) is primarily found in shades of pink or purple. Its fluffy flower attracts butterflies and, of course, bees.

Learn more here.

The long, wispy blooms of the wandflower (Gaura) are usually seen in white or pink. They are long blooming and a great pollinator plant.

This is another self-seeding plant, so make sure you pluck any unwanted seedlings early as they quickly develop a taproot that can make them hard to remove.

Learn more about gaura care here.

Coral bells (heuchera) are one of my all-time favorite shade plants. The tiny flowers are unimpressive, but I am a sucker for colorful foilage, and coral bells don’t dissapoint. Their leaves found in chartreuse, gold, or various tones of purple and bright red really add some pop to darker areas in the garden. When planted closely together, they create a nice groundcover.

It is important to make the distinction between perennial geraniums, or cranesbill, and the annual type, which belong to the Pelargonium genus.

Hardy geraniums grown in low mounding shapes, most blooming from late spring into the summer, with some varieties blooming in the fall.

I love the heart shaped leaves of the epimedium. In the spring, the plant develops tiny, almost orchid-like flowers, but this plant is primarily grown for foliage. It is an especially nice addition to woodland gardens.

The silvery blue blades of little bluestem (Schizachyrium) are a great addition to a garden bed. In the fall, the grass blades turn to red. ‘Blaze’ is the variety I have in my yard.

Muhly grass (muhlenbergia) is an attractive grass throughout the growing season, but it really becomes the star in the fall, when the seed heads develop a pink or red hue, creating a wispy rose-colored wonderland.

Ruby Muhly ‘Undaunted’ is a great variety to try.

Thyme (Thymus) is one of the hardiest and easiest groundcovers to grow. I’ve even seen this used as a low water lawn alternative, as it withstands some foot traffic and spreads relatively quickly.

My favorite varieties are creeping thyme (pictured), which develops pink or purple blooms in the early summer, and elfin thyme, with a satisfying spongy texture.

Ice plants (Delosperma) are very easy to grow, even in the poorest soils. When blooming, they form an impressive carpet of prolific bright color. My favorite variety is ‘Fire Spinner’, as pictured.

Over the past several years, Turkish speedwell (Veronica liwanensis) has become one of my most loved groundcovers. It spreads quickly and flaunts profuse tiny bright blue blooms in late spring/early summer. The foilage remains attractive when not in bloom, creating a dense evergreen mat of shiny green leaves.

Another benefit is that turkish speedwell can be planted just about anywhere. It loves full sun but I have found it does just as well in partial to full shade, where it adds some brightness to darker areas of the yard.

Like turkish speedwell, plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) displays abundant blue flowers and can also thrive in full sun or shade. But unlike the former, it blooms in the late summer and fall, after which the foilage turns a beautiful red.

Plumbago spreads by underground runners, which makes it an especially great plant in areas that need help with erosion. However it can be aggressive, so it is best planted in contained areas (such as a park strip) or in places where you are ok with it spreading freely.

The leaves of lamb’s ear (stachys) feel just like what you would imagine a soft, velvety lamb’s ear might feel like. The silvery green foilage is one of my favorite plants to add some texture to a flower bed. The plant does send up some spikes of purple blooms in the summer, but these are unremarkable.

Also known as spotted dead nettle, lamium is a cute low-growing groundcover with pink or white flowers that bloom in summer. Even when not flowering, its silver-green foilage is an attractive addition to the garden.

As you probably surmised, the butterfly bush (buddleja) is a favorite food source of those beautiful pollinators. Know that this plant has become an invasive species in some areas, especially the Pacific Northwest. However, commercial cultivars are sterile.

These shrubs range in size, from over 10 feet to dwarf varieties that remain a compact size, around 2-3 feet. Blooms are purple, pink, or white.

Bluebeard (caryopteris) is a fast-growing medium size shrub that blooms in late summer and fall. Its blue purple blooms are a magnet for bees.

The foliage of the elderberry (sambucus) is interesting in both color and texture. Leaves are dark burgundy, almost black, and the shapes can almost resemble those of Japanese maple, especially the beautiful lacy foliage of ‘Black lace.’

Elderberries produce flowers and edible berries known for their health properties. These shrubs are on the larger side, around eight feet in height and width. There are some upright cultivars such as ‘Black Tower‘ and ‘Laced Up‘ (pictured) that remain 3-4 feet wide for smaller spaces.

With over 150 varieties, viburnum offers a large array of choices. Some are evergreen while others deciduous, many produce berries, and all exhibit beautiful blooms. Most prefer full sun but some will do well in partial shade.

In general, these shrubs tend to be on the larger side; the Chinese snowball viburnum can grow to over 20 feet in height and width. The compact varieties are still around 5-6 feet in height and diameter. ‘Koreanspice’ is a popular smaller cultivar.

Discover more varieties from the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Daphne is an attractive, easy shrub that maintains a nice round shape without any pruning. ‘Carol Mackie’ is probably my favorite shrub in my entire yard. I love the variegated leaves, and in the spring it develops tiny pink blooms that smell divine.

It is recommended to grow daphne in full sun or part shade, but mine is located on the north side of my house and as you can see, it is very happy there.

Oregon grape (mahonia) is a woody, low-growing evergreen shrub that is a solid choice for dry shade. Small yellow flowers are an early pollinator source in the spring, followed by dark blue berries that are a great food source for birds. The leaves are glossy green and turn red or purple in the fall, but the downside is they are spiky and holly-like.

Cotoneaster is a low-growing spreading shrub. Its branches of dark green leaves display tiny pink or white blooms in the spring, followed by bright red berries in the fall. Note that these berries are poisonous to humans and animals.

Some varieties of cotoneaster are evergreen; the deciduous cultivars’ leaves change colors in the fall. This shrub will tolerate some shade.