Keeping your garden green and gorgeous all summer can be tricky but, if you choose your plants carefully, you won't have to worry about them drooping when the weather's hot. Follow our four top tips for a sumptuous summer garden:

1. Choose sun worshippers
One drought-beating strategy is to use plenty of plants that come from hot, Mediterranean climates. These have adapted to conditions with little water and can create a dramatic look.
Go for:
• Succulents such as Agaves, echeverias and aeoniums.
• Plants that have hairy or silvery grey leaves, such as stachys (lamb's ears), Russian sage, helichrysum.
• Spiky-leaved plants such as eryngiums or cardoons
• Hardy Mediterraneans such as purple allium , French or Spanish lavender, rosemary, thyme and sage .

Tips:

• Plant agaves in containers as they need to be brought inside during the winter.
•Bold globes of Allium giganteum look great among silky grasses.

2. Create a shady spot
As well as providing shelter from the sun, shade forms as microclimate that traps moisture, meaning there's less watering for you to do. Apart from the trees, the best way to create shade is by adding structures such as pergolas, arbours and bowers. Train climbing plants over the framework to make a natural canopy, and choose shade-loving ones to grow underneath.
Go for:
• An ornamental or fruiting grape vine to cover a pergola.
• Ornamental hops (try golden Humulus lupulus 'Aureus' or the fast-growing Chilean glory vine, both of which look fantastic scrambling over an arbour.
• Hellebores, hostas, ferns, and foxgloves - these are all plants that will flourish in the shady areas beneath structures and trees.
Tips:
• A vine with edible grapes, such as 'Concord', gives shade and fruit.
• Shade-loving Helleborus orientalis produces pretty flowers in early spring.