Succulent/drought tolerant suggestions

[JonahAndTheSnail]

I have a small patch in my front garden by a pond which struggles to grow anything in the summer as it's full sun and clay soil and I don't have time to be out watering every day.

I've bought a garden seat with an arch and am planning on improving the soil directly around it enough to have roses climbing up it. The rest I think I want to gravel over and have a few succulent type plants poking out. I have hens and chicks growing in a container close by and they seem to be thriving, so I'll probably plant a few of those. What other plants could work well and offer a bit of variety/seasonal interest? I'm up north, so would need something that can cope well with frost and cold in the winter. The rest of the garden is cottage style, but I don't mind this section looking a bit more formal/exotic.

Sedums are pretty tough and would thrive in that situation. Good for wildlife too.

from the Guardian today "These tough plants have to be drought-tolerant and capable of wet winters. These are not necessarily dry garden plants, although they share their resourcefulness and their thicker or hairier (or both) leaves that don’t frazzle in the heat – things such as verbascums, Stachys byzantina, Verbena bonairensis and Verbena hastata, Salvia nemorosa and cultivars, and hylotelephiums (formerly sedums). Plants with storage organs in their roots – such as dahlias, with their fat tubers, or daylilies such as Hemerocallis “Hyperion”, with thick underground rhizomes – might fare well. See also comfrey, mallows, poppies and wild carrots – anything wielding deep taproots."

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/aug/15/six-ways-heatproof-garden-provide-shade-make-compost-leave-weeds

The problem with succulents is they struggle with winter wet.

If you can assure good drainage for the winter sedum matrona is lovely.

There are a lot of drought tolerant plants which have evolved in low rainfall like in the Med region, but most of those would struggle in clay soil. Your problem is the problem with clay soil: it is mineral-rich and roses for example enjoy that, but for many plants the poor drainage aspect makes it more challenging. It will dry out into cracked lumps in summer and water will sit on it in winter when plant growth and evaporation is low. Gravel on the top will slow evaporation in summer but it won't address the soil issues underneath.

I'd recommend you create deep planting pockets with a good loam mix for sharper drainage and plant your drought tolerant plants into that, then gravel over the top. A lot of these plants have narrow, needle like leaves or hirsute, silvery leaves to reduce water loss. (Succulents have swollen leaves or stems with a waxy surface to keep water within, different method but the principle is the same). They would appreciate the full sun and look great against a dark gravel surface.

Some examples would be Santolina, lavender, Echinops, Sedum, Mesembryanthemum, Senecio cineraria. Small herbs like thyme and oregano would also work well, although only if the drainage is good.

Thanks, there's some really useful suggestions here. I think I need to steer away from succulents and look for a few suitable foliage plants rather than flowers to get the effect I'm wanting.

Most silver-leaved plants will be drought tolerant. My favourite is Convolvulus cneorum, a low growing shrub with leaves like beaten silver, and typical white convolvulus flowers for much of the summer.