Garden smarter by choosing resilient plants that cope with minimal care and variable weather.
Many years ago, Shirley Conran, author of the book ‘Superwoman’ for busy women wrote, ’Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.’ Fast forward to 2026 and with life being even busier, it would be fair to say life’s too short to fuss with feeble plants!
What gardener’s (or would be gardeners) want, say the trend spotters, are plants that are both beautiful and bullet proof. Whatever the weather throws at us, be it heat, drought, storms or floods, the busy gardener needs plants that will stay the course and not need constant attention.
The gardening industry has stepped up to the challenge, says Kathy Varney, past president of the SA Nursery Association.
Whether it’s the introduction of new or ‘improved’ tried and trusted varieties, breeding programmes are prioritising plants for better heat, humidity and drought tolerance, wet weather resilience and greater disease resistance. Low maintenance is the watchword.
For busy gardeners wanting the right plants for the right conditions, Kathy offers her top picks for the three categories below, drawing from her experience as marketing manager of BallStraathof.
Drought tolerant
Angelonia (aka Summer Snapdragons) can take punishing heat and humidity. Plants are well branched and compact, ideal for filling beds that receive full sun or afternoon sun.
Bidens is irresistible to bees and butterflies and thrives in the heat of summer. It’s a good low growing edging, border or groundcover plant that also grows well in pots.
Coreopsis an easy growing bedding and border perennial that’s sun-loving and drought tolerant. It’s not fussy about soil and has mildew-resistant foliage. Growth is neat, compact and tidy.
Cuphea Sweet Talk grows in full sun or semi shade, and its flowers are a natural sources of nectar for pollinators. The flowers don’t need dead heading, even under hot conditions.
Euphorbia Gramineae is heat tolerant across a wide range of conditions, doing best in full sun but able to take some shade. Plants are long-lasting, free flowering plants and fill in fast.
Wet weather resilient:
Canna ‘Canova’ is fast growing, compact and heat tolerant, but is not invasive. It is a low maintenance plant that does best with full sun and moist soil.
Petchoa BeautiCals are large weather resistant plants that recover from rain much faster than standard petunias. Being a cross between petunias and calibrachoa, they flower profusely like cali’s but with bigger petunia type flowers.
Osteospermum are both heat and wet weather tolerant and hybrids like ‘Serenity’ are more compact and less likely to fall open. These are no fuss garden plants available in a wide range of colours.
Hydrangeas like consistently moist soil and fertiliser such as Vigorosa once a month in summer. They thrive in wet weather as long as the soil drains well. Hydrangea ‘Magical’ is a long flowering variety.
Easy care:
Begonias add colour to semi-shady beds and perform well in heat and drought. No deadheading is needed. They range from bedding varieties to shrubby plants, like Dragon Wings for containers. Do not over-water.
Verbena ‘Firehouse’ flowers continuously, as new flowers are opening as the old ones die. The foliage is tough and disease resistant. Place in a position that receives morning sun and afternoon shade.
Calibrachoa produce masses of tiny flowers, don’t like to be over watered or fussed over and are vigorous growers that quickly fill the container or hanging basket.
Perennial salvias have low water needs, grow in ordinary soil that drains well and flower from spring through to autumn. Trimming with hedge clippers improves their flowering and keeps the plant looking neat, but it’s not essential.
Dipladenia ‘Diamantina ‘Jade’ or ‘Opale’ grow 30cm and 45cm high respectively and have colourful trumpet-like blooms. They like plenty of sun are drought tolerant and their flowers don’t fade in the sun.
For more information: www.ballstraathof.co.za.
Article and images by Alice Coetzee.
