Our favorite 'right' plants for the right spot!

* Russian sage (Perovskia). Upright perennial with slender, silvery foliage and wispy purple flower spikes. Species can grow 4 ft.tall but dwarf 'Little Spires' is 2 ft. tall. Long blooming, starting in July.

* Caryopteris. Nicknamed the 'blue mist shrub'. This compact rounded shrub gets wispy purpl-blue flowers in late summer. One oflast shrubs to flower. Grows 4 by 4 ft. or less. Trim once in spring, and that's it.

* Ornamental grasses. Miscanthus, panicum, pennisetum, schizachyrium and festuca are all tough in drought. Lots of choices inblade color and size, from 8 inch 'Elijah Blue' festuca to 8 ft. 'Silberfeder' miscanthus.

* Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia). Perennial that is nearly covered in gold when petaled flowers bloom in from mid-July throughAugust. 'Goldstrum' is best known variety. 'Viette's Little Susy' is 14 inch dwarf.

* Sedum. Perennial with fleshy foliage. Comes in many sizes and forms, from creeping red or orange bloomers (I.e. 'Fuldaglut' orSedum kamtschaticum) to upright, late-season 3 footers (I.e. the bronzy 'Autumn Joy', and pink 'Matrona').

* Roses. The no-spray shrub types such as 'Knockout', 'Bonica', and the 'Carefree' and 'Flower Carpet' series are among our favorites. Spreaders (I.e. Meideland types), climbers and even hybrid teas take drought well.

* Salvia. Both perennial and annual types do well in drought. Perennials such as the purple 'May Night' or deep-pink 'Rose Wine'are 18 to 24 inches. Blue salvia (I.e. 'Rhea' and 'Signum') is our favorite annual types.

* Gaura. Perennial with small, narrow leaves and wiry stems that produce dainty, white or pink blooms July to fall. Butterflies loveit. 'Siskiyou Pink' is our favorite - 3 feet tall with rich pink flowers.