In the Pacific Northwest, the mild temperatures and abundant rainfall in winter make it easy to grow a vast number of plants, but the dry summer months can make it a real challenge for many plants to survive without supplemental water. There are many plants that are native to the Mediterranean region that are perfectly adapted to wet winters and dry summers that are common to our region.

Cistus or Rockroses are evergreen shrubs from the Mediterranean. They prefer full sun and dry gravely soil and tolerate seacoast conditions and even desert heat. Blooming for a month or more in the spring, the white or pink flowers usually cover the shrub entirely.

Four Recommended Cistus

Cistus x purpureus has spectacularly large dark rose colored blossoms, each petal having a maroon blotch. It will grow 3-4 feet tall and wide. Hardy zone 8.
Cistus incanus ‘Creticus’ has wavy, silvery-green leaves, and rose-pink crepe paper-like flowers in spring. Hardy zone 8.
Cistus x skanbergii is a tough dwarf evergreen shrub with small, soft, warm-pink flowers in May. It grows about 30” tall and wide. Hardy zone 8.
Cistus salviifolius prostratus has white flowers with yellow centers in spring. With a low spreading habit, it makes a great evergreen groundcover about 12-18” tall with a spread of 6’. Hardy zone 7.

Lavender stoechas or Spanish Lavender has flowers with showy bracts that are often described as “rabbit ears” or “butterfly wings”. Like all Lavenders, it prefers full sun, and dry, gravely soil. Unlike other Lavenders, this Mediterranean evergreen shrub is a spring bloomer that will often repeat its bloom if spent flowers are removed.

Two Recommended Spanish Lavenders

Lavender ‘Quasti’ has large, fragrant, deep purple flowers topped by large purple bracts or "butterfly wings." It is hardy through zone 7.
Lavender ‘Wings of Night’ has showy clear purple bracts with exceptionally bushy growth and heavy spring flowering with good repeat flowering in summer. Hardy through zone 7.

Hardy Salvias or Meadow Sage grow to perfection in the Pacific Northwest. They prefer sun and well-drained soil and like it on the dry side in summer. Most will repeat bloom if spent flowers are cut back in late spring or early summer.

Two recommended cultivars of Salvia

Salvia ‘Blue Hill’ (‘Blauhugel’) has periwinkle-blue flower spikes in June and a compact, bushy habit. It will reliably repeat bloom when spent flowers are removed. Hardy through zone 5.
Salvia ‘May Night’ (‘Mainacht’) has masses of violet spikes in June and again in late summer. It was the 1997 Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year. Hardy through zone 4.