Dealing with water restrictions or choosing to conserve water? You’re not alone. Many gardeners in Norfolk County are facing the challenge of keeping gardens thriving with less water. The good news? A lush, colourful garden is still within reach—thanks to drought-tolerant perennials.
When we think of drought-tolerant plants, cacti might be the first thing that comes to mind. But there’s a surprising variety of beautiful, hardy perennials that can handle our region’s dry spells—no desert landscape required.
While these plants do need regular watering when first planted, once established, they’re low-maintenance and well-suited to Southern Ontario’s climate, including periods of limited rainfall.
Full Sun Ground Cover
Botanical Name: Armeria maritima 'Dusseldorf Pride'
Botanical Name: Delosperma 'Fire Spinner'
Botanical Name: Euphorbia myrsinites
- Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens)
- Catmint (Nepeta x faassenii)
- Hardy ice plant (Delosperma nubigenum)
- Hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum)
- Moss phlox, creeping phlox (Phlox subulata)
- Pincushion flower (Scabiosa japonica var. alpina) (S. ‘Butterfly Blue’)
- Pinks (Dianthus alpinus)
- Rock cress, wall cress (Arabis species)
- Rock rose, sun rose (Helianthemum hybrids)
- Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) (E. polychroma)
- Stonecrop (Sedum acre) - dwarf varieties
- Thrift, sea pink (Armeria maritima)
- Thyme (Thymus species)
Full Sun, Medium to Tall Plants
Botanical Name: Penstemon 'Dark Towers'
Botanical Name: Papaver orientale
Botanical Name: Eryngium 'Big Blue'
- Beard-tongue (Penstemon digitalis) – Native
- Bergenia (Bergenia crassifolia)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – Native
- Blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora)
- Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) – Native
- False indigo, wild indigo (Baptisia australis)
- Hairy penstemon (Penstemon hirsutus) – Native
- Lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) – Native
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’)
- Perennial cornflower (Centaurea montana)
- Poppy (Papaver species)
- Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia compressa) – Native
- Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
- Salvia (Salvia nemerosa hybrids)
- Sea Holly (Eryngium species)
- Silver sage, wormwood (Artemisia ludoviciana)
- Threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata) – Native
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Full Sun Grasses
Botanical Name: Festuca glauca
Botanical Name: Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Fire'
Botanical Name: Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
- Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) – Native
- Blue fescue (Festuca glauca)
- Blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens)
- Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’)
- Little blue stem (Schizachyrium scoparium) – Native
- Switch grass (Panicum virgatum) – Native
Groundcover for Shade
Botanical Name: Epimedium 'Domino'
Botanical Name: Asarum canadense
Botanical Name: Anemone canadensis
- Barrenwort (Epimedium hybrids)
- Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum)
- Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis) – Native
- Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera)
- Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
- Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) – Native
- Woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) – Native
Medium to Tall Plants for Shade
Botanical Name: Maianthemum racemosum
Botanical Name: Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum'
- False Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum) – Native
- Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) – Native
Ferns for Dry Shade
Botanical Name: Polystichum acrostichoides
Botanical Name: Dryopteris filix-mas
Botanical Name: Dryopteris marginalis
- Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) – Native
- Hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) – Native
- Marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis) – Native
- Male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas) – Native
- Rock fern (Polypodium virginianum) – Native
A Little TLC
It doesn’t take much to keep drought-tolerant plants thriving—just a little attention and some seasonal TLC. While they’re tough, even these hardy perennials appreciate an occasional deep watering during extended dry spells, especially in their first year.
For sun-loving perennials, skip the heavy fertilizers. Instead, an annual layer of compost is all they need to stay healthy and strong.
Shade-loving drought-tolerant plants, on the other hand, benefit from a layer of mulch. This helps retain moisture and reduces evaporation, especially in dry shade, which is one of the most challenging conditions for any plant to thrive in.
And don’t forget to deadhead regularly! Removing spent blooms encourages your plants to keep producing flowers instead of going to seed, meaning more colour, for longer.
With a few simple care tips, your drought-tolerant garden can remain beautiful and resilient throughout the entire season.
Other resources:
- Landscape Ontario: Eight Beautiful Drought Tolerant Plants
- Toronto Master Gardeners: Drought Tolerant Plants
- Guelph.ca: Drought Tolerant Native Plants
What’s the best way to brighten up your garden? Add lots of annual flowers in the Spring! Here in Southern Ontario, the May holiday weekend is usually safe from frost - and go time for planting tender annuals!
At Eising Garden Centre, you’ll find a wide array of beautiful annual blooms. Here are ten of our sun-loving favourites to try.
Cosmos
With daisy-like blooms in radiant shades of pink, red, and pure white adorned with mellow yellow centres—Cosmos are irresistible. They're perfect planted along a fence or at the back of a border, where they can lean on a little support. Depending on the variety, Cosmos can grow anywhere from 12 to 80 inches tall!
Zinnia
Bold, structured, and bursting with colour, Zinnias bring serious wow factor. Their cheerful blooms come in red, green, orange, yellow, purple, pink, and white. Depending on the variety, Zinnias grow between 6 and 36 inches tall and spread about 12 inches wide.
Calendula
Decorative and useful, Calendulas are edible flowers with culinary and medicinal value. Their soothing, antiseptic properties make them popular beyond the garden. Calendula come in gorgeous, bright shades of copper, orange, gold, and yellow blooms and grow 10 to 24 inches tall.
Marigold
Tough and reliable, Marigolds handle heat and humidity with ease, thriving even in the driest parts of your garden. They offer a beautiful range of bloom types—from large, ruffled flowers to small, delicate blossoms—and a palette of cream, yellow, orange, red, and bi-colours. Depending on the variety, Marigolds can grow from 6 to 36 inches tall.
Amaranth
If you're after drama, Amaranth is your plant! Reaching heights of 3 to 5 feet, these bold beauties flaunt long, rope-like clusters of maroon or red flowers. While low-maintenance, Amaranths may need a bit of support to stay upright as they mature.
Portulaca
Perfect for hot, dry, and neglected spots, Portulacas deliver a brilliant show of colour with minimal effort. Their rose-like blooms come in vivid shades of red, pink, yellow, white, orange, and purple. Low-growing at just 4 to 8 inches tall, they're ideal for the front of borders, or alongside driveways, and patios.
Salvia
With tall spikes of bold purple, red, blue, pink, or white blooms, Salvias are garden standouts. Growing 8 to 24 inches tall and often blooming continuously, they quickly become must-haves for flower beds or large containers.
Geranium
Drought-tolerant and tough as nails, Geraniums have long been a gardener’s favourite. Regular deadheading (removing spent blooms) will reward you with non-stop flowers until frost. Their lush foliage and bright flowers—ranging from salmon, white, purple, violet, and orange to red and pink—also shine in mixed containers. Geraniums typically grow between 8 and 24 inches tall.
Petunia
It’s no surprise Petunias have remained beloved for generations. They grow quickly, bloom prolifically, and require little care. Available in mounding or trailing forms—and sometimes carrying a heavenly scent—Petunias are perfect for flower beds, hanging baskets, pots, or window boxes. Growing 6 to 18 inches tall, they come in white, yellow, pink, purple, red, bi-colours, and even black!
Dahlia
Dahlias can become a full-on passion project—and it’s easy to see why. Their breathtaking blooms come in a stunning range of sizes, shapes, and colours. While Dahlias can be a bit particular (they love rich, well-drained soil and plenty of water, but hate soggy conditions), they are absolutely worth the extra attention.
Sunshine + Food + Hydration = Success
All of these annuals thrive in full sun and will reward you with even more blooms when given consistent water and fertilizer.
Adding a continuous-release fertilizer to your soil at planting time—or feeding weekly with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer—makes it easy to keep your garden thriving all summer long!
*TIP: Check our handy Plant Finder for more details! https://plants.eising.ca/11110015/