![White and Purple Osteospermum](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4263-white-blue-purple-osteospermum-sq.jpg)
![Yellow and Orange California Poppy - Eschscholzia californica ssp. maritima 'Coastal Form'](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/0485-yellow-orange-california-poppy-sq.jpg)
![Hollyhocks in Hot and Dry Cottage Garden](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/6696-pink-hollyhock-front-yard-cottage-garden-660x471.jpg)
Hot & Dry Cottage Garden
I adore a traditional cottage garden but certainly don’t have the weather for it. Starting in late May, the weather begins to heat up and our summer sizzles with temperatures often above 100F well into the fall. With the exception of a couple bouts of humid weather, the summer months are generally very dry. We typically don’t get any rain until mid fall.
So I’m always looking for beautiful flowers and plants that can withstand the heat, but don’t require a lot of water. To maximize their resistance to heat and minimize their thirst, I keep most of them nicely mulched.
Here is a gorgeous line-up of blossoms that are perfect for the drought-tolerant cottage garden.
Cottage Garden Flowers
These flowers are a mix of annuals and perennials. They are all low-maintenance plants and many have long blooming seasons. My yard is heavy clay soil, thus all can tolerate clay soil. Though some need more drainage than others.
![Purple Agapanthus](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8250-purple-agapanthus-sq.jpg)
![Alyssum](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2622-white-alyssum-sq.jpg)
![Pink Purple Angelonia angustifolia](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8721-pink-purple-angelonia.jpg)
![Yellow Mexican Marigold - Tagetes lemmonii](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/3692-yellow-mexican-marigold-gray-artemisia-sq.jpg)
![Purple Aster - Symphyotrichum chilense](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2938-yellow-purple-aster-chilensis-sq.jpg)
![Magenta Calandrinia spectabilis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5842-pink-magenta-calandrinia-sq.jpg)
![Red Columnifera ratibida](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/9598-red-columnifera-ratibida-sq.jpg)
![Pink Coreopsis rosea](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/9618-pink-coreopsis-sq.jpg)
![Pink Cosmos](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/9428-pink-cosmos-sq.jpg)
![Red and Yellow Day Lily](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7976-red-yellow-daylily.jpg)
![Red Dianthus](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8585-red-dianthus-sq.jpg)
![White Echinacea](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4327-white-echinacea-multi-sq.jpg)
![Yellow Encelia farinosa](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/3998-yellow-encelia-farinosa-sq.jpg)
![Red Yellow Gaillardia pulchella](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4015-yellow-orange-red-gaillardia-sq.jpg)
![Pink Gazania](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/3104-pink-brown-yellow-gazania-sq.jpg)
![Yellow Golden Fleece or Dahlberg Fleece](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8720-yellow-golden-fleece-dahlberg-daisy.jpg)
![White Hollyhock](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4316-white-hollyhock-sq.jpg)
![Pink Hyssop - Hyssopus officinalis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7462-pink-hyssop-sq.jpg)
![White Iris](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5062-white-iris-sq.jpg)
![Red Orange Lantana](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7867-red-orange-lantana-sq.jpg)
![White and Purple Larkspur - Consolida](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5744-white-purple-larkspur.jpg)
![Purple Lavender - Lavandula](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/3186-pink-purple-lavender-sq.jpg)
![Purple Liatris, Yellow Rudbeckia, Yellow & Red Coreopsis, Bachelor Buttons and Sunflowers](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8236-purple-liatris-rudbeckia-coreopsis-bachelor-button-sq.jpg)
![White Linaria](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/6667-white-linaria-multi-sq.jpg)
![Orange Marigold - Tagetes](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7647-orange-marigold-sq.jpg)
![Desert Marigold - Baileya multiradiata](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2956-yellow-desert-marigold-sq.jpg)
![Yellow Mexican Marigold - Tagetes Lemonii](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/0004-yellow-orange-marigold-sq.jpg)
![Narrowleaf Milkweed - Asclepias fascicularis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/9154-pink-white-milkweed-sq.jpg)
![Purple Morning Glory](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5169-purple-morning-glory-pink-rock-rose-cistus-sq.jpg)
![Pink Nicotana](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2597-pink-nicotania-sq.jpg)
![Purple Nierembergia](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8270-purple-nierembergia-sq.jpg)
![Blue Nigella](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4798-blue-nigella-sq.jpg)
![White and Purple Osteospermum](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4263-white-blue-purple-osteospermum-sq.jpg)
![Yellow and Orange California Poppy - Eschscholzia californica ssp. maritima 'Coastal Form'](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/0485-yellow-orange-california-poppy-sq.jpg)
![Pink Rock Rose - Cistus](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4966-pink-yellow-cistus-rock-rose-sq.jpg)
![Yellow Rudbeckia - Irish Eyes](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/6268-yellow-green-rudbeckia-sq.jpg)
![Pink Saliva Coccinea](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1303-white-pink-salvia-coccinea-sq.jpg)
![Purple Salvia guaranitica](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/0880-purple-salvia-guaranitica-sq.jpg)
![Salvia microphylla - Meza Azure](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5276-salvia-microphylla-purple-sq.jpg)
![Purple Salvia Nemorosa](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8686-purple-salvia-nemorosa.jpg)
![Pink and Magenta Scabiosa](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8190-pink-magenta-scabiosa-sq.jpg)
![Scarlet Bugler - Penstemon centranthifolius](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4295-red-scarlet-bugler-sq.jpg)
![Purple Statice - Limonium](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7012-white-shasta-daisy-purple-statice-sq.jpg)
![Pink Sedum](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2603-pink-sedum-sq.jpg)
![Red Snapdragons - Antirrhinum](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8479-red-snapdragon-sq.jpg)
![Yellow Sunflower - Helianthus Annuus](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/0876-yellow-sunflower.jpg)
![Yellow Perennial Sunflower - Helianthus maximiliani](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1340-yellow-perennial-sunflower-sq.jpg)
![Orange Tithonia rotundifolia](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/0591-orange-tithonia-sq.jpg)
![Pink Verbena rigida](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/6406-pink-verbena-groundcover-sq.jpg)
![Purple Verbena bonariensis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5668-purple-verbena-bonariensis-sq.jpg)
![Purple Wallflower Erysimum](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/3965-purple-erysimum-wallflower-sq.jpg)
![White Yellow Pink Yarrow - Achillea](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7284-white-yellow-pink-yarrow-bouquet-sq.jpg)
![Red Zinnias](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2875-zinnia-multi.jpg)
Cottage Garden Shrubs, Trees & Vines
![Painted Lady Butterfly on Butterfly Bush](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1328-pink-butterfly-bush-butterfly-sq.jpg)
![Purple Canary Island Sage - Salvia canariensis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/6862-purple-canary-island-sage-sq.jpg)
![Purple Chaste Tree - Vitex agnus-castus](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/8220-purple-chaste-tree-sq.jpg)
![Pink Crape Myrtle - Lagerstroemia](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/6869-pink-crape-myrtle-sq.jpg)
![Pink Desert Willow - Chilopsis linearis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/4085-pink-desert-willow-sq.jpg)
![White Yellow Honeysuckle - Lonicera](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/5732-white-yellow-honeysuckle-sq.jpg)
![Purple Jacaranda Tree](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1693-purple-jacaranda-sq.jpg)
![Pink Cape Mallow - Anisodontea capensis](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/9556-pink-cape-mallow-sq.jpg)
![Orange Desert Mallow - Sphaeralcea ambigua](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1801-orange-mallow-sq.jpg)
![Pomegranate Tree Blossom](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/7980-orange-pomegranate-sq.jpg)
![Rose of Sharon - Hibiscus syriacus](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1796-pink-rose-of-sharon-sq.jpg)
![Black Sage - Salvia mellifera](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/1604-black-sage-bee-sq.jpg)
![Purple Mexican Sage - Salvia Leucantha](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2224-purple-mexican-sage-salvia-leucantha-sq.jpg)
![Purple Russian Sage](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/3310-multi-purple-russian-sage-sq.jpg)
![Pink Leucophyllum frutescens - Texas Ranger](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/9795-purple-pink-Leucophyllum-frutescens-texas-ranger-sq.jpg)
![Purple Wisteria](https://wildfloweryard.com/wp-content/uploads/2067-white-purple-wisteria-sq.jpg)
This is a great reaource! Thank you. Beautiful yard!
Thank you Angela!
Great list! Thank you!!
Thanks Maria! 🙂