Alpines

A group of flowering shrubs and herbaceous perennials whose natural habitat is rocky and exposed mountainous terrain. These harsh conditions have forced them to evolve a tight, low-growing habit, and small, often hairy leaves to reduce moisture loss to the wind.

Sedum

A genus of herbaceous perennials and sub-shrubs with thick, fleshy leaves which can store water to enable the plants to survive periods of drought.

Verbascum

A genus of rosette-forming herbaceous perennials with densely hairy leaves which act to vastly reduce the amount of drying by the wind at the leaf surface – allowing the plant to keep a relatively humid microclimate at the stomata (leaf pores), thereby reducing water loss. The flowers are held high above the foliage to ensure pollinating insects can easily find them, but these exposed stems tellingly have very few leaves.

Salvia

A large and varied genus of aromatic perennials and sub-shrubs; usually with tough, leathery leaves and an extensive network of highly efficient, fine, fibrous roots – allowing them to extract all available moisture from the soil.

Verbena bonariensis

A species of herbaceous perennial which takes full advantage of ideal conditions, while they last, by growing very quickly and setting large amounts of seed before conditions deteriorate. Their tough stems and leathery leaves also help to reduce water loss, while their surprisingly efficient root system enables them to make full use of any available water – unfortunately making them dry out very quickly if confined to a pot!

Cistus

A genus of mound-forming shrubs with hairy leaves which appear silvery-grey; the ideal colour to reflect the maximum amount of light, and therefore heat, away from the plant - allowing it to stay as cool as possible in the full, baking sun to which they are adapted. A large network of fine, fleshy roots also allow them to extract the maximum water from the dry, rocky, Mediterranean soil in which they have evolved.

Lavender

A genus of aromatic shrubs with, as above, light-coloured reflective leaves to keep them cool and very efficient roots.

Rosemary

As with the Lavender, a genus of aromatic shrubs with very efficient roots and thick, waxy leaves to help reduce water loss.

Hebe

Another genus of mound-forming shrubs with extremely efficient roots; making them drought resistant when established, but very thirsty for the first year or two in the ground and quick to dry out if kept in a pot.

Yucca

A well-known genus of shrubs with thick, tough leaves which have evolved to have a low surface area relative to their volume and very few pores (opened mainly at night when temperatures, and therefore evaporation is lower) through which water could be lost. These few pores are located at the bases of tiny recessed pits which allow a relatively humid microclimate to form in order to further reduce water loss.