If you’re relaxing at the bach over the New Year holiday and pondering a parched landscape, it might be time to consider water-wise planting. Water is often a precious resource at holiday homes – far more important for showers than the garden! – so succulents are the obvious choice. These do add fantastic texture, but year-round colour is important too. Here’s a selection of some of my favourite plants from arid regions around the world to whet your appetite.

SOUTH AFRICA

Gazanias come in the most sumptuous colours, flower from spring to autumn and are indispensable as weed-suppressing ground-cover plants.

Flannel flower is a favourite of florists for its mass of long-lasting, fluffy flower heads, which appear in spring.

Leucospermum make a perfect front-line defence for less wind-hardy plants. The stunning pincushion-style flowers add colour for many weeks from late winter.

Aloes burst into spectacular flower in winter and spring. They attract native birds and enjoy low-fertility coastal soils. Small types are good fillers; large types make dramatic accent plants.

MEDITERRANEAN

Lavender is a fragrant, easy-to-grow plant that is especially useful as hedging and for mass planting or to line pathways where its lovely aroma can be enjoyed while passing by.

Rock roses are simply stunning from spring to autumn with their wealth of brilliant but short-lived pink, yellow or white flowers.

Convolvulus creates a thick carpet of trailing stems that’s perfect for ground cover or cascading over walls.

Pomegranate is a deciduous tree or shrub that produces bright orange flowers in summer followed by fruit in autumn and winter

AUSTRALIA

Grevilleas range from thick ground covers to large, dense shrubs, all of which flower prolifically at different times of year.

Bottlebrush Little John is a fantastic small-growing variety and the newly released Great Balls of Fire makes a brilliant hedge.

Banksias are extremely coastal-hardy. Banksia integrifolia makes a great shelter belt and Banksia Birthday

Candles (pictured) is an excellent weed-suppressing ground cover.

Kangaroo paws are great fillers and make a good talking point with their unusual spring and summer flowers.

USA AND MEXICO

Mexican orange blossom has very attractive glossy green foliage, and produces masses of white spring and summer flowers.

Californian lilac quickly forms a dense shrub or ground cover and smothers itself in blue flowers from early summer. Ideal for covering a low wall or fence.

Mexican bush sage (salvia leucantha) produces masses of woolly stems tipped with velvety flowers in late summer.

Californian poppies self-seed, popping up in the most unexpected places to add lovely splotches of random colour all over the garden.

NEW ZEALAND

Astelia adds wonderful textural contrast with its dramatic spiky foliage.

Poor Knights Lily also adds magnificent texture and eventually the most amazing red “toothbrush” flowers.

Marlborough rock daisy grows in extremely exposed coastal and alpine areas – it’s slow-growing, but well worthwhile.

Renga lily is excellent as a mass ground cover or planted in clumps of three to five throughout garden borders.

PLANTING IN HOSTILE CONDITIONS

DRY SOIL:

Condition sandy soils with compost before planting.

Add water crystals to the planting holes of trees or shrubs.

Mulch garden beds with fine bark.

Water plants deeply in their first two seasons.

Plant dense ground-cover plants.

WINDY SITE:

Plant “nurse” plants, such as native ngaio, and then remove them once other plants are established.

Establish a sound shelter belt before planting tender plants.

Stake tall-growing plants well.

Anchor plants by placing large rocks around stems to prevent “wind rock ”.

PLEASE NOTE: All the plants listed above require good drainage and should be well watered until they have established themselves.