Something from me, I don't have a limited water supply, but I have a problem that my garden is dry and sunny and I'm away from it in the beginning of the summer, a time when it is most important to water plants. I pick plants that don't need the constant watering and I'm proud of the results! I have almost everything you mentioned (except the roses, I would never dare to plant them) and think it is possible to have a wonderful garden without the best of conditions!
Share with us what other plants you have, I am very interested!

Aloysia,
Where are you? Plants that will thrive in south Florida, for example, will flop in southern California. I've gardened or lived in three Zone 8 areas (north Florida, western Washington, Apennine foothills in northern Italy) and each has had its own set of conditions and of plants that liked them. One has to consider water available and when it comes, soil, terrain, atmospheric humidity, temperature patterns.

Melissa

Croatia, although somewhere temperatures go much much lower, my garden is on a sheltered place, near the sea, so temperatures don't go below 0, -1 C and the ground never freezes. Conditions are very dry late spring and summer, but quite rainy in autumn, winter and early spring. The soil is sandy. How about you?

I'm in the northern foothills of the Apennines in the province of Piacenza: we're practically neighbors. We're in zone 8, roughly, have weather similar to yours it sounds like but a little colder, and alkaline clay soil. You might have a special challenge with sandy soil, as it's less water retentive than clay soil. Is your soil ph alkaline, acid, or neutral? You might be able to grow certain roses, in particular Teas, Chinas, and Banksiae roses (climbers) all like a warm climate and are quite drought tolerant once established. If you could get them through the first year and then kept a mulch on them afterward, they might do fine.

I grow the following plants in the drier parts of my garden:
Roses (Teas, Chinas, Wichuriana Climbers, English, Banksiaes);
lavender, thymes, rosemary, santolina (lavender cotton), artemisias, rue, sages;
buddleia, box, laurel (Laurus nobilis);
olives (we're experimenting to see whether we can grow these);
tall bearded irises, narcissus, pinks, daylilies, rudbeckias.

Of course there are all kinds of succulents you could grow, most of them too tender for our climate, though I want to try yuccas. And I suppose you can grow citrus and palms that are too tender for here.

My own feeling is that a lot of plants are more drought tolerant than you would expect. You need to dig a good hole, keep them mulched, and fertilize with a light hand, and of course water the first year. I'm honestly not sure how this year is going to go, as it's been really dry for an entire year now and I'm afraid our local water system is going to run out this summer. But so far, even during dry spells, we've been doing fairly well maintaining a large garden without heavy watering.

Melissa

My soil is acid. Wow, I would love to grow roses!
I have rosemary, artemisia, buddleia, laurel, daylilies and rudbeckia. And genuine croatian bearded irises (iris croatica)! This year I decided to try with olives. Yuccas are quite cold hardy, but I have problems with them because they keep popping up all around their roots and are really prickly!
Some of my plants for a colder climate are: hibiscus syriacus, lonicera, maclura pomifera, spirea bumalda, cariopteris, tecoma, campanula, gleditia japonica.

Aloysia,
You could go on the Antique Roses forum, describe your garden conditions, and see what forum members recommend. If you have acid sandy soil your conditions are similar to a lot of Florida (my home state, so I know) and I know there are Florida residents who post on that forum. I believe some of the Chinas do well there on their own roots. Fortuniana rootstock is considered the best for grafted roses in Florida. I have a cutting of the Cherokee Rose (Rosa laevigata), which is naturalized in the deep southeast U.S., and it appears to like acid soil: I had to rescue mine after planting it in our alkaline clay. It's a once-blooming climber with glossy leaves. Anyway, ask.

I recommend the Antique Roses forum instead of the regular Roses forum because I think you'll find members grow a greater range of roses, not just old roses, and are very knowledgeable. If, when you say 'roses', you mean Hybrid Teas (large flowers on long straight stems), you might find them difficult in your conditions, but there are many other kinds of roses, and very beautiful ones. Naturally there remains the question of what roses you have access to in Croatia. Italy is pretty good, and I have access to the entire European Union when I go looking for roses, but I don't know about Croatia.

I was wondering if you're Croatian, or resident there and come from somewhere else? You write English like a native speaker.

Melissa

I am a greater fan of antique roses myself, so your ideas about them made me very happy! Unusual (I always look for tropical plants) things here are quite difficult to find, but there are lots of different roses, I'm sure I'll find something! Last month I visited Pordenone and I was very envious about everything you can buy!
Thanks, that means a lot! I'm Croatian and I never lived anywhere but here.

Hi, Aloysia!

My husband wished to add his compliments to mine for your excellent English.

What kind of antique roses do you like? I'm fond of most classes except for the Hybrid Perpetuals, which seem to be fussy and which I've never seen looking good--there may be exceptions that I'll discover one day. My favorite old roses are the Teas and Chinas, which do very well here, but I love once-bloomers as well.

I've been out working in the garden a lot lately. We have a partially wooded area where I've been clearing brush and planting some Clematis montana varieties and a couple of tree peonies. The area was the previous owners' dump and was very brushy--it was an old slide zone--so we've had to carry out a lot of garbage, kill the elms growing there, which keep any decent plants from growing because the elms' roots are so invasive, and clear out a lot of invsive plants. After four years of our work and Nature's healing activity, the place is finally beginning to bear some resemblance to a garden. I think perhaps two more years, and it will be a garden, albeit a young one with a lot of growing to do.

It's raining, and I'm very glad for it. After a dry fall and winter, finally some water.

Ciao! Melissa

Thank you!
You wouldn't believe it, but I've never seen Chinas! I love English roses, and I was thinking about some wild ones, rugosa maybe.
I'm now in zone 6 and my clematis montana started flowering yesterday, lovely! I can only imagine that you have a lot to do, I always fight with weeds, grasses and the worst of all, opuntia that covered a half of my garden, but are, hopefully eradicated now. And one of my biggest problems is that I have no shade in the garden and I'm always looking for some fast growing trees. I hope to travel to see my garden soon, it is so far away from me... And I hope it rains a lot, I even dread to imagine what all the drought has done to all of my new plants.
I'm sure your garden looks great already!

Aloysia,
I am puzzled by your latest follow-up. Originally you said that you were in zone 9 and now you say that you are in zone 6. Is your garden by the sea while your house is located far from it?

Ottavio

Sorry! I have a house and a garden in zone 9, near the sea, but I live far away from it in zone 6, Zagreb. Where do you live in Italy?

I live with my wife and daughter in the township of Lugagnano (8 Km. from town). Our house and garden are located about 100 miles SW of Milan at an altitude of 450m. above sea level.
Our garden looks south and therefore it's considerably warmer than the opposite slope. I have just finished planting a line of poplars (Lombardy Poplars, one foot high). I hope that they will grow nicely. In these days my wife is making a "wood garden" planting clematises to grow over trees and tree-peonies with their splashy blooms. Peonies like cooler weather and so she plants them in the shade of trees.My wife is the one with the green thumb so she is the one with the flowers while I do the trees.

Ottavio

Very nice, I could never have clematis and peonies in my garden, that's a shame.

Aloysia.
I don't see how you can't grow clematis and peonies in your garden. It's true that your garden is located in an area a little warmer than here, but the difference is not great and peonies and clematises grow beautifully here. Maybe you have to plant them in a shady area, protected from direct sunlight. I admit though that I am not an expert in gardening and I have to ask my wife to tell you her opinion on the matter. We are back from a 5 days vacation in Torino that we enjoyed very much.
Ottavio

Hello, Aloysia!

Do I understand that you have a garden at your zone 9 seaside house but none at your zone 6 home in Zagreb? (But you did say your Clematis montana is in bloom.) Because in Zagreb peonies and clematis shouldn't be a problem, as I imagine you know.

Now, zone 9 by the sea. 1) Instead of trees for shade, in the short term how about a pergola and climbers? Plant trees as well, for the future. 2) I'm not knowledgeable about zone 9 plants, but I believe there are clematis for that climate, though of course they're very different from the temperate climate large-flowered ones. I know I've seen wild clematis down south on the coast. 3) A similar discourse for peonies. There are Mediterranean peonies, related to Paeonia officinalis. I don't know if any of them is suited to your coastal conditions, but you might look into them. I know there are kinds that are too tender for our mild conditions. 4) Perhaps you don't know China roses under that name? 'Mutabilis' and 'Old Blush', both very common in Italy, are examples of Chinas. Rugosas sound like a good option for your conditions.

I fight an ongoing battle against weeds and grass too: I rely on a heavy hay mulch to keep down the weeds and the Bermuda grass. The problem with hay is that it sprouts grass as well, but the grass is easier to deal with than the weeds it covers and subdues. Do you use a mulch? It's really important especially in a dry climate, as it helps retain water and also keeps the soil cooler, and it adds nutrients to the ground. In fact, it's the only fertilizer we use.

You saw I suggested you look into some uncommon plants for your coastal garden. Part of what gives gardens their character is a selection of plants that suit that particular site and not a different place. People would have much more varied and interesting gardens if they tried to do this: find what works for them and not what everyone else in the world has.

Here it's high spring and just as beautiful as can be. It's now dry and warm for the time of year, and some of the plants are flowering ahead of usual: hawthorn is in full bloom now, which I remember as usually flowering in May with the locusts; and the roses are coming into flower as well, a couple of weeks earlier than usual. The cold climate once-blooming roses, however, seem to be sticking with their usual schedule. Plant growth is lush everywhere, and our garden plants have matured to the point that they have enough volume to make a statement in the landscape. It's REALLY beautiful.

Good luck with your garden!

Melissa

I always do things that are unusual to do! I planted clematis montana last year in a container on my balcony in Zagreb (I don't have a garden here) and I'm still enjoying those lovely, fragrant flowers about 30 of them!
I have no problems with my spring flowering plants, but I'm there during the summer so I want to plant something that I can see in flower. I planted a group 2 clematis, but it couldn't stand the drought, I think.
I love all kinds of climbers! This year I'm growing asarina, ipomea alba from seed, and I already have ipomea indica growing wonderfully! My special love are all passiflora I can find, that's hard here and that's why I'm growing p. edulis, edulis flavicarpa from seed.
I adore all kinds of unusual plants and I love being able to plant them in my garden (grevillea, dracena, grewia, datura)! I try to find them anywhere I can! I always choose plants that I think can stand the drought and some tropical ones that love the harsh exchange of rain and drought.
I was planning on getting some mulch, but I'll need lots and lots of it...
Thank you all! I'll look into those peonies.

Hello, Aloysia!

Like I said, I don't know what plants will suit your conditions, as I've never gardened in them before. Some more ideas: pittisporum, aloes and other succulents. How about lavender? It's fragrant and blooms in summer. Buddleia? Also fragrant and drought tolerant and summer flowering. I have a notion there are all kinds of plants that suit those conditions, I just don't know what they are. For a long term tree (slow growing), an evergreen oak for shade, and perhaps pines, Italian cypress, olives? You'll know better than I what grows wild and cultivated in your area. I don't know how these plants do in acid soil, in particular: the temperature and droughty conditions shouldn't be a problem, once they're established.

I experiment as well: I want to find every good-looking plant there is that grows well in my conditions. These days I'm learning about irises. Even a year or two ago tall bearded irises grew all over in this area, by the side of the road and in neglected patches. This year a lot of them seem to be gone. What happened to them? This isn't rational, but I feel as though I need to make myself the local iris custodian, buying, swapping for, and collecting these wonderful flowers and in time giving them to people who appreciate them. It would be an awful shame if they just disappeared from the landscape.

Good luck with your experimentation!!

Melissa

Hi, Melissa!
You seem to have spies in my garden! I have pittosporum, buddleia, pines, cypresses (but are not where I would like the shade to be). Aloes and agavas are quite invasive here, I can't get rid of them. I am planing on planting lavender, olives and I've been looking for evergreen oaks for some time now, but I can never find them, I have no idea why.
I'm planning a trip to my garden, hopefully next week, although, I'm very afraid what I'll find there, it's so hot and the drought started already...
I love my white bearded irises (i. croatica) and I'm trying to keep them safe. I read somewhere that because of the construction of new roads and buildings irises vanish from their natural habitat, that might be going on in your area, that's really a shame.
What kind of bearded irises do you have? I saw some lovely irises few days ago, magenta-lilac and very fragrant, wonderful!

Aloysia,
if you happen to come this way you are cordially invited to pass some time here. We have a guest room so there is no problems if you need to pass the night here.My wife Melissa will show you our 200 varieties of roses, she is very proud of her garden and so am I.
Ottavio

Hello, Aloysia!

Ottavio wrote this and I second it. We like to show our garden (and I think it's worth seeing), and we have room and time. I'll probably be in the U.S. this summer during most of July and August and the first week or so in September, about two months all together. Aside from that, we're usually at home.

Melissa

P.S. (returning to drought gardening:) It's very dry here too, probably similar to what's happening where you are. My established plants are fine so far, and the roses are blooming handsomely. I don't know how they'll be doing if the drought goes on for months, however. It's worrying.

There's nothing mysterious about my naming all the plants you already have in your garden: we both just have a pretty good idea of what will grow in your conditions. Good luck on finding an oak tree! Also, there are plants characteristic of the Mediterranean 'macchia', that ought to do well in your coastal conditions, but I don't know them that well.

I don't know what happened to those irises, but evidently no one cared enough about them to save them when the place they were growing was turned to some other use. The lack of appreciation is maddening, and it's comforting to hear from a person like you who notices and takes care of her local plants. I don't know what kind of irises I have, though they're mostly primitive kinds, tall bearded irises anyway. I also have Iris foetidissima and I. ochroleuca, which is fairly common here. I'm looking for iris books and catalogs from iris nurseries I can buy so I'll have more pictures and more information. Unfortunately most pictures of irises show only the flower, while photos of the plant would be very useful for identification purposes. I expect that in a year or two I'll know more about irises than is currently the case.

Melissa

Wow, thank you, guys! That's so nice of you!! I would love to see it and meet you, I'll try to think of something, a trip to Milan, maybe...
200 roses, wow! I'm sure your garden is wonderful!
Last summer I finally found a plant growing in our macchia, arbutus unedo, I love the fruit and I can't wait for it to flower (it takes a year from flower to fruit, long, but worth a wait)!
I am afraid of the drought myself, but I hope it won't be that bad.
I would like to grow more kinds and colors of irises myself, but I'm so sorry that I never see them in flower. It's too late this year, what a shame. I'll try to post a picture of my irises on my balcony (you can see how crazy I am - irises on a balcony!), I brought a few of them here to see them in flower.

Aloysia,

Good! Let us know when you plan to come so we can make arrangements. You can send me an e-mail by going to my Gardenweb page.

Have a good spring! Let's hope it rains!

Melissa

It wouldn't be soon! I'm busy for a while, maybe in autumn...
You too!
I hope I'll be traveling to my garden very soon, I'll let you know what disaster I find there!

Aloysia,
that's fine, but in autumn the roses will not be as nice as now because most of our roses are once blooming and that happens in spring. But autumn is good in another way, since Melissa and Sylvia will be going to Florida July 6th and returning home mid September. See you then.

Ottavio

Your garden sounds so lovely with or without roses. I hope I'll be able to work my plans and obligations out and see you then! Bye!

Irrigation for Restoration, Harsh Climates and Remote Sites. Not sure if these have been posted already.

https://www.groasis.com/en

http://permaculturenews.org/2014/04/24/get-started-efficient-irrigation-systems/

http://scc.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/AlternativeIrrigationSystemsForAridLandRestoration_Bainbridge_.p

Groasis Vegetable Trials 90% less water, no fertilizer, and mycorrizhae. Part1 there are 15 videos in the series. Very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7ftuIfSeA