Xeriscape Landscape Design Ideas For Clay Soil

When creating a drought tolerant garden, one of the more difficult soil types to come up with xeriscaping ideas for is clay soil. While drought tolerant perennials may be fine with a lack of water, when clay soil gets wet, the plants may also have to deal with too much water, as clay soil has poor drainage. With a little knowledge, you can have a drought tolerant garden even in clay soil.

Xeriscape Landscaping for Clay Soil

Amend the soil- No matter what you intend to do with your clay heavy garden, you should always work towards amending the soils by adding organic matter. When coming up with xeriscape landscape design ideas, this is even more important as this will make it easier to manage your drought tolerant landscape as the years progress. Plant clay and drought tolerant perennials- Planting drought tolerant perennials that are also happy growing in clay soil will guarantee a beautiful drought tolerant landscape. A few of these are:

• American Feverfew
• Blackberry Lily
• Black-Eyed Susan
• Columbine
• Daylily
• Feather Reed Grass
• Heavenly Bamboo
• Honeysuckle
• New England Aster
• Oxeye Daisy
• Perennial Flax
• Purple Coneflower
• Russian Sage
• Stonecrop
• Cranesbill

Use organic based mulch- Clay soil has a tendency to crack. When developing a drought tolerant landscape in clay soil, make sure to use an organic mulch. This will help to hide the cracks, will prevent moisture loss, and will break down over time, adding organic material to the soil below. When coming up with xeriscaping ideas for your drought tolerant garden in clay soil, you just need to dig a little deeper. There are plenty of drought tolerant perennials that can survive even the harshest clay soil conditions.