On a recent trip to Victoria, I was strolling around the neighbourhood adjacent to the Art Gallery, when I stumbled upon an unexpected outcropping of bedrock which had been incorporated into a residential landscape. There was little growing on it except lichen and mosses, with the exception of a solitary Donkey Tail Spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) thriving in a soil-filled crack and blooming its heart out. It got me thinking about those perennials that seem to take care of themselves despite the heat and lack of water.

(Euphorbia myrsinites |📸 MK Lascelle)

So, I thought that I would share a few of these with you today.

Hens & Chicks / Sempervivum

These durable perennials now come in almost any foliage colour including copper, yellow, burgundy, red, green, purple as well as cobweb and bicolour forms. The ‘Gold Rush’ variety shown is from the Chick Charms series, who have been pushing the boundaries of breeding new hues. Expect the central rosette to eventually bloom, after which it dies and produces multiple ‘chicks’ or offsets to replace themselves. USDA zone 4. Foliage grows an average of 4-6” tall.

(Sempervivum 'Gold Rush' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Blanket Flower / Gaillardia 

While Blanket Flowers are very cold hardy, they cannot handle wet soils in winter as this usually causes them to rot out, so be sure of your drainage. They come in dazzling red, peach, yellow and hot orange colours that stand up well in the bright sun and they also bloom from early summer to fall with regular deadheading. USDA zone 3. Foliage ranges from 12-36” tall, with most newer varieties being on the compact side.

(Gaillardia 'Spintop Yellow Touch' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Stonecrops / Sedum

This is a huge family that includes uprights (Sedum spectabile, now called Hylotelephium) as well as groundcover forms such as the native Sedum spathulifolium ‘Cape Blanco’ shown. These are some of the easiest drought tolerant perennials to grow and they also draw in a multitude of pollinators with their hundreds of tiny white, pink or yellow blooms. While the latter is evergreen, many stonecrops die down to the ground in late fall and remerge the following spring. USDA zone 3-9 (some varieties are tender here). They grow between 2-30”, depending on the form.

(Sedum 'Cape Blanco' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Mugwort / Artemisia

Here’s a handy tip when choosing drought tolerant plants, everything with silver foliage generally works quite well. Included are the Artemisia with a few of my favourites being ‘Silver Mound’, ‘Powis Castle’ and the Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Silver King’ shown here. These are essential blending plants when creating an alba garden, as the silver foliage and white blooms complement each other nicely, and both literally gleam in the moonlight. As with the stonecrops, there are both evergreen and herbaceous forms of Artemisia. USDA zone 3-9 with most being on the hardier end of the scale. Grows 1-5’ tall depending on cultivar.

(Artemisia 'Silver King' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Catmint / Nepeta

Every gardener should have a catmint in their landscape for their long season of bloom, ease of care and the fact that they draw in those pollinators and beneficial insects. While you have your choice of purple, blue, pink or white flowers, it is the bluish hues that remain the most popular due to their resemblance to lavender. All Catmints are herbaceous perennials, meaning they die to the ground in winter and remerge with fresh foliage in spring. USDA zone 3-7. Grows 12-36” tall on average.

(Nepeta 'Whispurr Blue' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Hardy Ice Plant / Delosperma

While considered an invasive plant in California, this low succulent has little chance of doing the same in our wetter coastal BC habitat. Many begin blooming in late spring, flowering for a few months while some varieties like the ‘Jewel of the Desert Garnet’ shown, continue blooming right until the first frosts. The smallish flowers often cover the entire foliage canopy and are frequently contrasted with a white to pink eye, but there is literally a rainbow’s worth of flower colours available, from purple to dazzling golden yellows. Like the Gaillardias, they require adequate drainage in all seasons to survive the winter. USDA zone 5-6 on average. Grows 3-6” tall.

(Delosperma 'Jewel Of The Desert Garnet' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Purple Coneflower / Echinacea

The common name has become a bit of an oxymoron, as the humble Purple Coneflower now comes in orange, yellow, red, white, peach, green and many bicolour forms. Those first few colour breakthrough varieties weren’t the best at overwintering, but the newer ones, such as ‘Sombrero Adobe Orange’ are. What’s really important is that you acclimate them to their new growing conditions for a full season and make absolutely sure that your soils drain well in winter. USDA zone 3-5 on average. Grows 12-36” tall depending on species or variety.

(Echinacea 'Sombrero Adobe Orange' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Spurge / Euphorbia

This truly diverse family can range from the aforementioned Euphorbia myrsinites which works well in rock gardens, to the massive Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii) that we see growing in our parks and along boulevards. They also have the further benefit of being quite deer resistant due to their milky sap. One thing you will have to adapt to is pruning, as most varieties die back after flowering and need to be cut to the base of the stem to regrow cleanly. USDA zone 4-7, depending on cultivar. Grows 6-48” tall depending on species.

(Euphorbia characias subsp wulfenii | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Russian Sage / Perovskia

A perfect companion plant for ornamental grasses such as Miscanthus or Blue Oat, as I noticed it was used extensively in these pairings throughout the Okanagan during my last winery tour. It generally dies back to the base of the stem and doggedly waits to regrow until the true heat of spring comes around, but it more than makes up for this by blooming midsummer right into fall. There are both compact (‘Little Spire’) and tall forms, although most are somewhat in the middle like this newer ‘Denim ‘n Lace’ variety (18-24”) from Proven Winners. USDA zone 4 on average. Heights vary from 18” to 48” tall.

(Perovskia 'Denim 'n Lace' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

Yarrow / Achillea

There has been an explosion of new colour varieties of late, with most of these also having a handy compact growth rate. Shown here is ‘New Vintage Violet’ which slowly fades to a soft pink over time. These make superb cut flowers, and this perennial is a favourite of butterflies and bees. The colour range is also quite diverse (bright yellow, red, terra cotta, purple, white) and the foliage can be either green or silver. USDA zone 3 on average. Grows 18-48” tall depending on variety. 

(Achillea 'New Vintage Violet' | 📸 MK Lascelle)

So, before you go out and purchase these perennials for your hot and dry spaces, I need to leave you with one important proviso. The plants you are bringing home have been given optimum growing conditions in regard to regular watering, constant fertilization and possibly even some heat to push the growth. Which means that they are not ready to endure those hot and dry conditions right away, they need a full growing season to root in and adapt to their new soil conditions and sun exposures, after which they should be fine with minimal inputs.

Copyright 2025 MK Lascelle