There are more than 450 lavender, varieties, but here are the best for filling your garden with color, fragrance, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

The key is to find lilac selections that do not need so much chilling in the winter. The folks at Descanso Gardens in California worked for many years to find varieties that would bloom after a warm winter. Ask local nurseries if they can find for you ‘Lavender Lady’, ‘Blue Boy’, ‘Dark Knight’, ‘Miss Kim’, ‘Betsy Ross’ or ‘White Angel’ (‘Angel White’) lilac.

These drought-tolerant perennials look good through dry spells. Use this guide to find tough perennial plants that bloom without much water.