Sedums work well in hot dry areas.

I'd recomend you look at Yellow Bulbine. Cat's tail. Related to Red Hot Poker.

Seems to be an almost succulent plant. Tolerates heat and sun very well. It was a flowering perenial for me this year. stayed green all winter.

Available at Home Depot. Grows quicly. Really likes the San Antonio Alkaline, kaliche soil.

I'm buying more this year. Very pleased with it. An attractive, wonderful plant.

Check the link.

Good luck!

Banana Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1354914}}

Turk's cap for shade.

Knockout roses and earthkind roses

Hardy Hibiscus

Abelia

Nandina

Texas Superstar plants - google it
Too many to list.

I water like every couple weeks whenever I water the lawn/trees deeply (1.5 inches) if needed.

3-4 inches of mulch will help so much. You practically can go for a month before having to water (when the plants are established)

I've had great luck with dwarf mexican petunias (needs lots of sun to bloom) and mexican heather. Both flower on and on all summer, in full sun, I hardly ever water them. Also, Plumbago and Oleander for larger "shrubs". The Oleander is totally drought resistant, but watch out, it gets HUGE. The plumbagos in my yard come back year after year, and are in full sun to part sun, and only get water when I think about it, which isn't often. I'm in Houston if that helps. We haven't had much rain yet this year, and everything's happy.

Just went out to add some mulch to my beds, and saw a few plants that I forgot to mention earlier - so here's my complete list of drought tolerant items from my beds:

Smaller things:
Blue Daze - just water every few days till established, mulch & forget about it

Mexican Heather (both purple and white blooming varieties, they've been coming back every year for about 7 years, just weed-whack them in the winter after they go brown, or they get leggy when they come back in the spring)

LANTANA!!! - blooms like crazy, don't bother watering it after the first few weeks. I have the type that stays close to the ground, purple blooms, but there are upright varieties, and blooms in pink, yellow, red, and purple...

Dwarf Mexican Petunias - multiplies like crazy, and lots of blooms in full sun, if you plant in the shade, it looks nice and leafy, but no blooms

Echinacia (full sun to part sun - it's my first year with this one, supposed to be pretty hearty and heat tolerant)

Shrubs/Trees:
Oleander (needs full sun to bloom & fill out)

Bottlebrush (evergreen with neat red flourishes in spring)

Plumbago (light blue clusters of blooms, butterflies FLOCK to it, blooms April to September in my yard)

I've added the link to the Texas Superstars website below for you to have a look

Here is a link that might be useful: texas superstar plants

full sun:
Desert Rose, hibiscus, flowering garlic, rock rose, knock out roses, bird of paradise, plumbago, indian feathers, bulbine, oyster plant( just for color), and yellow bells.
These all do well for me in zone 9. Barbra,

Too cold in Dallas for Bottlebrush (Callistemon Sp), Plumbago auriculata
and some Hibiscus though most of the Mallows will succeed in the area.

HTH
Chris

zinnias, lamb's ears, coreopsis, Greg's mist, salvias, gazanias, black foot daisy, Copper Canyon daisy,Cuphea, Stachys coccinea, Monarda, Hymenoxys,bluebonnets, soap aloe, carex, society garlic,Oenothera,Asclepsia, variegated eleagnus, tagetes, Dianella... There are many!

Omar

Vitex! Native, drought and heat tolerant, small tree. Purple & white flowered & a variegated one too. Cupheas, crinums, hymenocallis.
We had a small amount of rain on Saturday. Doing the nekkid turtle dance all this week.
Tally HO!

Yarrow, cosmos, rubeckia, most herbs, grasses.

Everyone's listed excellent plants, but lou's advice zeroes in on a powerful fundamental practice:

mulch mulch mulch mulch mulch mulch mulch

No matter what we plant, sun & heat suck moisture out of the soil & overheat plants both above & below ground (foliage & roots).

You shouldn't have to water your "in ground" plants every day;
add a healthy layer of mulch & keep it refreshed at least a couple of times a year.

Chase down a tree trimming truck if you can;
they'll sometimes deliver it free so they don't have to pay a dump fee at the landfill.

Best luck!

To my knowledge, vitex is not native. I read:

Chaste tree is native to woodlands and dry areas of southern Europe and western Asia. Because of its many admirable attributes, the chaste tree is a garden favorite wherever in the world it can be grown.

I know it's pretty, but I consider it too invasive to plant. Just my side of it.

I was lied to! Not had a problem with it being invasive here. I love the smell of it. (Vitex)

My brugmansia I would not consider drought or sun tolerant. The ones in full sun need constant watering-which I don't do so I don't grow them in full sun anymore. And boy do they wilt during the day.

I spent yesterday driving around picking up "free" bags of mulch. Leaves, grass cuttings, etc. Then spread them around the garden. Our city also has free mulch, you have to load it yourself but can't beat the prices!
Tally HO!

Mexican Firebush...mine have been there many years and they are pretty much on their own ...usually no watering at all. Cenizo...ditto. Four-Nerve Daisy and Damianita...they came with the property and and survive well without watering. Gregg's Salvia (or Autumn Sage) doesn't need very much water once established. Texas Mountain Laurel holds up well in a year like this. Oh and Flameleaf Sumac is a good one!