This year in the garden I plan to "prepare for drought and hope for rain." The weather was so brutal last summer and although I lost quite a few plants and didn't have overwhelming production from many of my vegetables my garden survived surprisingly well. By doing research on drought resistant plants I can educate myself beyond the "oh that picture looks pretty, I'll pick these tomatoes for this year's garden" and also move one step closer to my goal of working with nature more closely, starting in my own backyard.
One plant that I absolutely love (and that is a native of the Southeast) is the Coneflower. Most common in our area is Echinacea Purpurea. I've never successfully started this plant from seed so usually depend on a local nursery for seedlings. The good news is that a two or three year old plant can be (and should be!) easily divided into many more plants. The clump shown in the picture above were planted last year and hadn't had a chance to establish themselves before the drought set in, I am hoping that this year they will produce more flowers.
Bees and other pollinators love coneflower, and as a native plant it typically does very well in a Southeastern garden without too much fussing. The flowers are beautiful and long lasting in bouquets and on the plant.
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