4 essentials every drought-tolerant garden has – they're key to helping your garden to thrive in hot weather with as little watering as possible

Heatwaves have become the norm for British summers, and our gardens are definitely bearing the brunt of them right now. To help my plants survive the heat, I set out to find the key things a drought-tolerant garden always has.

Climate-resilient planting is a huge garden trend for 2026, and there’s a real focus on prepping our gardens for extreme temperatures. Besides drought-tolerant planting, there are lots of ways to batten down a garden’s hatches against increasingly hot summers.

I’ve rounded up a few essentials that a drought-tolerant garden always has to help you protect your plants in heatwaves and dry weather.

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1. Drought-tolerant plants

Drought-tolerant plants do exactly what they say on the tin: they can cope with dry conditions and even thrive in hot weather.

It makes sense, then, that they’re staples in a drought-tolerant garden. So many of the gardens at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show featured climate-resilient planting, marking a real shift toward drought-tolerant planting this year. There are so many drought-tolerant plants for pots and borders alike, so there’s no shortage of choice.

‘What you’ll find in all gardens which are designed to be drought-tolerant is that the plants can thrive on minimal water once established,’ says Lucie Bradley, gardening and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation.

Lucie recommends popular perennials like lavender, agapanthus and hardy geraniums, as well as fast-growing, drought-resistant flowers like cosmos and zinnias for bold colour. Agapanthus africanus 'Albus', which you can order from Crocus, produces beautiful white blooms.

2. Rainwater collectors

Rainwater collectors are another feature that drought-tolerant gardens always tend to have, and they’re an ultra-sustainable garden idea, too.

Whether you install a traditional water butt or hang a rain chain to decorate your space, harvesting your own rainwater means you’ll have a steady supply of water if your area is affected by a hosepipe ban. Other than that, it’s a really good way to save money on your water bill – and your plants will thank you for it, too.

‘Using rainwater is one of the best ways to keep your plants hydrated as it's free of chemicals like chlorine and fluoride, which are found in tap water, as well as being naturally free of salts,’ explains Lucie.

‘Whilst traditionally you could use collected water to fill watering cans or buckets, special irrigation systems are now available which enable you to use this low-pressure water, including solar-powered systems from Gardena, Hozelock, Claber and Irrigatia.’

The Hozelock Solar Select Controller Kit, which you can buy at Amazon, is solar-powered and designed to draw water up from buckets and water butts.

3. Efficient watering systems

That brings us to another drought-tolerant garden essential: an efficient watering system.

Every garden needs water, no matter how climate-resilient it is, and an irrigation system is one of the most effective ways to provide it.

‘Many gardeners will install drip watering systems that supply water slowly directly onto the surface of the soil so your plants are deep watered rather than with traditional garden sprinklers, which not only waste water through evaporation but can also make plants more susceptible to disease as they wet their foliage,’ Lucie explains.

Lucie recommends the GARDENA Micro Drip Irrigation System (available at Amazon), which can be customised over the years, or a porous soaker hose like this one from Gardening Express, which is ideal for watering flower beds and borders.

‘A porous pipe or drip tube is so flexible and will provide water directly to the surface of the soil or mulch, or can be buried in the mulch to make it even more discreet,’ says Lucie.

You could even install a smart watering controller like the GARDENA Smart Water Control from Amazon, which allows you to schedule watering sessions from your irrigation system.

4. Mulch

Mulching has so many perks, from enriching the soil with nutrients to suppressing weeds – but the biggest benefit in hot summers? It can keep your soil moist for longer.

‘A layer of mulch helps prevent moisture from evaporating from the soil,’ says Jude Allen, head grower at Wild Farm in Hertfordshire, which supplies much of the produce for farm-to-fork restaurant WILD in Berkhamsted. ‘Grass clippings, straw or homemade compost all work well. Avoid using fresh woodchip, as it can deplete nitrogen in the soil, which plants need for healthy growth.’

Strulch, which you can buy from Amazon, is a popular straw mulch which conserves soil moisture and gives beds and borders a nutrient boost.

‘Regardless of what type of mulch you use, applying a layer between 5 and 7 cm in depth will successfully protect the soil from extreme temperatures and reduce evaporation from the surface,’ adds Lucie. ‘Once you have applied mulch to the surface of your soil, it will then only need topping up once a year – or less if you are using mulches which decompose more slowly.’

Keep these drought-tolerant garden essentials in stock to preserve your plants in hot weather.