Best plants/shrubs which won't need to be watered

PhilOssophy

Hi all,
I am re-doing some planted area in my front garden, I don't have a side gate so if I need to water things I'll need to carry watering cans, etc through the house. As a result, I am wondering what the best plants/shrubs to sow, which won't need too much watering in dry periods.
I might potentially sow a hedge rather than anything else but I am wondering what my best options for plants/shrubs/etc would be?

(Forgot to edit the thread title, I don't want something that needs no watering but I don't want to sow a load of hydrangeas )

GinSoaked

Its as much to do with the soil as it is the plants.

If you have poor shallow soil then nothing much will grow.

Planting at the correct time of year, improving the soil (depth, drainage, organic content) and using a massively thick mulch will go a long way to reducing the need for watering.

btw I have hydrangeas growing in shallow soil over alluvial debris (mostly stones and boulders) and they wilt every summer.

macraignil

Any of the Mediteranian area plants should be fine without watering once they get established. Here is a clip from my own garden where I only water plants when they are newly planted and the soil is not very deep. Poor shallow soil is fine for plants like sedum, lavender, curry plant, sage, thyme, lamb's ear plant and lots of flowers like red valerian, saxifraga, geum and euphorbia. Ceanothus, hebe and pittosporum also seem to do fine here but I do try to add some mulch when the ground is wet to keep the moisture in and eventually improve the soil.