Ooooh! NatvTxn! I love those Friktari Asters! Do they grow from seed? Where can I get some of those beauties? I would suggest to ShariDiane that you plant a lot of plants native to arid climates, like Yuccas, Agaves, Cacti, Succulents, Moss Rose, Sages/Salvias, and etc. You might be surprised to know that these were /are grown in traditional English Cottage Gardens, too. In England they are considered "Exotics" and lusted after as much as we desire to have their lush garden plants and bowers filled with roses. Ornamental grasses add colour and texture. Make sure that you get the kind that are not moisture loving varieties. Mulleins grow very well in hot, dry climates and look spectacular with their tall spires of buttery yellow flows that sway in the wind (and birds love the seed in summer and fall). Verbascums too love hot dry places and come in many varieties and color combos. Tall spikes covered in delicate looking flowers in vivid color combos. I have Verbascum nigrum. Yellow flowers with purple throats. The flower buds are purple. Beautiful grown with Mallows. Beautiful planted in with Purple Coneflowers and spikey purple Liatris (two ohers that do well in drought conditions and high temps). ry California poppies and Baby Blue Eyes for Spring colour (and sometimes they bloom again in Fall). They reseed like crazy and you will love it! A great Cottage Garden flower is the Garden Phlox. They do really well once establish. Mulch around them to keep their feet cool and help hold moisture. They are great drought indicators too. If those babies wilt, you will know the rest of the garden is in serious of need of a good watering. Mine just bloom right through the hottest times every summer and we get temps comparable to yours. (And we are having a severe drought here in Oklahoma). Phlox make a good background plant, adding colour and heavenly fragrance to any garden and they come if a variety of colours and sizes. When I lived in the Mojave Desert we planted cannas. They loved the heat. I just ran a soaker hose around them early in the nmorning once a week. Talk about a colour and beauty! They add a tropical look to the Cottage Garden and they come in dozens of sizes and colours too. Dianthus are very sturdy little perennial plants in hot, dry climates and well as annuals like zinnias & marigolds. 'Clove Pink' is a Cottage Garden must in any climate and they love full sun in dry places. And their fragrance - Mmmmm. I have mine growing amongst rocks in the hottest area of my entire property. Sunflowers, Strawflowers, Heleniums, Amaranthas do very well for me too. Sweet Allysums, both annual and perennial love the heat and talk about perfuming the garden air! Planted around rocks or along the garden path edges or stepping stones they thrive and bloom all summer and reseed themselves too. Snow-in-Summer loves dry, hot rocky places. Queen Anne's lace does well, both Cottage Garden classics. Nigella does well in many dry, hot places too. Winter Sow directly in your garden in late summer for best results. I agree that Irises are a good choice, and don't forget Daylilies. They are tough little plants and come in a 'kazillion' colour combinations with endless entries of fun names to choose from. Both of these are Cottage Garden favourites, too. There are many more. Hope these help. ~ Annie 5th Generation Californian now living in Central Oklahoma

My favorite native plant that I have growing in my garden in my false rosemary/scrub mint. It's drought tolerant, extremely hardy, blooms nearly year round, and the foliage has a wonderful fragrance when it's brushed up against. It also grows so thick that no weeds are able to grow through it. The only trouble is that is attracts a lot of bees so if you're allergic to bees I wouldn't plant this near a pathway or gate. I happen to like seeing all the bees that visit the plant. Altough scrub mints like full sun mine is planted under a crape myrtle tree and is thriving. This is a close up of the flowers. Another tough, drought tolerant native that would do well in the conditions you described is the wild petunia. You could also try beach sunflowers although they seem to prefer as much sun as possible.

When I first moved to my new garden in Castlemaine, some 15 years ago, I realised I would not have a lot of time for gardening, and although I had gardeneed from early childhood, I had just got the bug big time. I had come from a garden with excellent water retention, to one that was sitting on the top of a very porous hillside, with scant topsoil. I definitely wanted flowers - not so much big and blowsy, as plentiful - cottage style. I decided to make myself a long list of what I liked that WOULD grow there. I used Kevin Walsh's "Water-Saving Gardening" published in 1993 by Reed Books, as a resource, and spent several evenings going through forst the "High drought tolerance" plants, then the 'Medium drought tolerant" plants and simply made a long list of those I really liked. The lists are extensive, and include all types of plants, giving brief descriptions, and some cultural info. Only a few photos in the book, but a big plus for me was that the author was a local. My garden was lovely (in my eyes at least) and I was sad to leave it. The new owners pretty much ripped it up after they found a snake the first week. The got rid of anything that provided ground cover - LOL. Didn't really upset me - they didn't deserve my garden, and I had taken lots of it with me. Rather than lists - how about some good resourses - either in book form or online? My need for drought tolerent plants has been greatly reduced with my move here, as the soil is more water retaining, and the rainfall a little more reliable. Here is a link that might be useful: Tips from Kevin Walsh

I can eat Fuyus every day and never tire of them. Hachiyas have always been used for drying and Persimmon Cookies and Persimmon Pudding...grew up in the San Joaquin with my grandmother's house having pomegranates. As kids we'd just crack them open on the road and gobble them. They can be 'seeded' under water for making jelly and not be messy. If I get visitors from SoCal who drive up rather than flying in, I can get someone to bring me a Suebelle....LOL...I tried a babaco once and didn't care for it. I have learned to eat my wild blackberries rather than cussing them and my blueberries and strawberries are doing well. Climate up here has changhed also. A friend who's lived here her whole life had a nursery and she said the weather has changed enough that her kids could have a 5 acre pumpkin patch whereas at one time they just couldn't grow them here. She's about 5 miles inland from me. We took a run over to White City, Oregon last week and it was around 100 degrees. It did not cool off appreciably until we were 10 miles from the coast on the way home. Hiouch or Gasquet, 10 and 20 miles inland from here would have plenty of heat for my persimmons...considerably colder in Winter also....