Native plants are great for gardens, but knowing which native plants best suit the conditions of your garden can be a make-or-break proposition during a drought. While such natives as Caulophyllum thalictroides, which prefers moist conditions, flag in the heat and dryness, other natives, such as wine cups, Callirhoe involucrata, just shrug them off. The close-up photo above gives no hint as to the terrible state of things here at Squirrelhaven now.
This photo tells a more poignant story.
Even tougher than the Callirhoe, which is growing in partial shade, is Ruellia humilis.
These plants are growing in full sun at the edge of an asphalt driveway. Granted, the day's blooms have all faded by midafternoon in 90+ degree heat, but every morning, a new, fresh crop greets me as I get the paper from the driveway. Neither of these plants has received supplemental water, which means I can use the water for other, more drought-sensitive plants.
Nearly everything else looks terrible, but at least these two plants still offer up blooms for me to stave off the despair that threatens to engulf a gardener of a garden in drought.
This post is part of Gail's Wildflower Wednesday.