Lyle, Not sure if all of these meet your "big" requirement but I've had good luck with the following perennials wrt drought tolerance once they're established. These plants are in full sun and my soil is ammended clay (I think the clay holds the water better than sandier soils.) - Verbena "Homestead Purple" - Salvia nemerosa "Caradonna" and "May Night" - Liatris spicata - Butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa) - Nepeta (catmint) - Iceplant (delosperma cooperi)(Short groundcover) - Tall Garden Phlox - Aster "Woods Purple" - Daylilies (the amount of bloom is affected by how much it rains, but they'll survive a drought) - Goldenrod "Fireworks" (this gets 3-4' tall and forms a wide clump) - Balloon Flower - Veronica "Royal Candles" Herbs: - Rosemary (this can get really big) - Thyme - Oregano Shrubs: - Butterfly bush This year I'm trying some new perennials that I've heard are drought-tolerant so we'll see how they do: - Candytuft - Yarrow Good luck with your garden!

Drought tolerance is increased by 25% or more, by adding 4 inches of wood chip mulch, which reduces evaporation and keeps the soil cooler, wood chips also supply all the fertilizing these roses will need, because they are closer to wild roses in their needs. Yellow Lady Banks rose is drought tolerant to some degree, and with mulch should do well with little supplemental water in your climate, see if your garden is warm enough in winter for them to survive. There is also a double white form that is my favorite. These are climbing roses that need support, if you could put a 4' tall fence around the plot, that would suffice. Their foliage is quite ornamental. summer blooming only. 'Harisons' Yellow' is a tough hybrid of two yellow rose species, and it survived along the Oregon trail with little care. summer blooming only. 'Seafoam' is a pretty white rose, that was bred from the wild rose named R. bracteata, and it has very good rebloom, it grows to be c. 4' tall by nearly 6 feet wide, here. In the Earthkind trials in Texas, for roses, 'Seafoam' was found to be quite drought tolerant,(as was Belindas' Dream) both survived 2 months with no rain or supplemental water, in a hot Texas summer. These were established plants when the supplemental water was stopped. Be sure these roses are grown on their own roots, and not budded or grafted onto rootstock. For all these roses, I suggest you grow them at home in a pot, until their root systems are well established, which will take about a year, but the wait will be worth it. Rose companion plants, that are drought tolerant in cool climates. Parma violets. I bought mine from Canyon Ranch.com these form very pretty clumps of heartshaped foliage with fragrant purple violets in spring. May need supplemental water 2-4 times a month, during the first year, if there is no rain. "snow in summer' would be my first choice, as a rose companion, because it is more drought tolerant. Each plant will cover c. a square yard, and grow to be c. 4 inches tall. Dainty white flowers carpet it in summer. Lavender, is another of my favorites for the drought tolerant garden, especially with pink and white roses. Old fashioned Pinks, such as Little Gem from Canyon Ranch Nursery, the older pinks, are wild species,or close relatives of wild pinks, which receive little summer water in their natural environment. The same is true for some of the wild geranium species. Luxrosa p.s. Incidentally, I found an old garden rose, named "Grandmothers Hat' rosebush in an abandoned garden in Oakland, Ca, where the neighbors said it hadn't been watered in years, yet survived Oaklands' summer drought, which typically lasts from June through September. It's a gorgeous pink rose, and very fragrant, and reblooms. vintage gardens.com sells it own-root. if there were room, this is how I would plant: Parma violet-Grandmothers Hat- or Harisons Yellow P. violet Pinks- 'Seafoam' -Pinks snow-in-summmer, snow-in-summmer

FAWNRIDGE: Thanks, I thought about Agave and Aloe as they are pretty common around here but am still holding out to see what my quest turns up. LOU: would you believe I thought of that this morning! When I go away a few days I do that with my herbs, except I coil the rope on top of the soil and bury it under the mulch. It wicks what it needs from a big bucket of water. I was going to ask if anyone thought something like that would work but thank you, you have confirmed that for me. That is excellent. HESTER: Container gardening is all IâÂÂm familiar because IâÂÂve never owned a home but IâÂÂve been keeping small herb/veggie container gardens for about 20 years. Putting plants around my screen porch is going to triple/quadrouple my container gardening work load, and IâÂÂve never grown flowers/shrubs before except a few short lived annuals. The easier, the better. I am going to order that book you recommended on Amazon right, thanks so much, I just wish you could get royalties for selling it. All my container gardening books are from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens up north and have been pretty useless since I moved South a few years ago. AMBERROSES: Yes, thatâÂÂs along the lines of what I was hoping to do... get some pots around with easy, sure-fire plants and shrubs. IâÂÂll probably add annuals in the mix here and there. Yes, majority of my pots are plastic, and IâÂÂve just inherited a big stack of plastic milk crates I plan to line with grow-bags and poke holes in them. I can camouflage them with some window boxes placed strategically in front of them or some dollar store plastic mini border fence I have. CORRIE: Lantana I recognize, and they always have it at nurseries around here though I never grew any myself. Your suggestions sound perfect, just the kind of thing IâÂÂm looking for. I also found one on my own... butterfly weed (not bush), a native weed but colorful and orange. Sounds hard to kill. Everyone, thanks for all the help... YouâÂÂve given me some great suggestions to look into and by all means keep them coming if you have any more.

We have moved from perennials to slow growing interesting conifers. Much less maintenance or (diaper changing) as my son calls it. With some research, you can find dwarf conifers, small maples, wonderful ground covers and have a great look all year. Mix with some Mediterraneans but be warned that they tend to be short lived and do require time to keep them tidy. Depending on your neighborhood, flowers next to the sidewalk can be very tempting to children and even adults who help themselves to the blossoms. Perennials need to be deadheaded and watered all summer - even the drought tolerant ones. Start slow - build the backbone with conifers, a few nice sized rocks and then if you want more color, add a few perennials like the ones mentioned above.