Some plants are pretty. This one is both beautiful and wonderfully useful. Cotton Lavender—also known as Grey Santolina or Lavender Cotton—is a compact, rounded evergreen shrub with extraordinary, finely textured foliage. Its dense mound of narrow, almost coral-like leaves is a stunning silvery-grey to grey-green, covered in a soft, woolly down. Brush against them, and you’ll release a strong, distinctive, pleasantly pungent, musky fragrance. In summer (typically July to August), slender, leafless stalks rise up bearing an abundance of small, perfectly round, button-like flower heads in bright golden-yellow, hovering above the silver foliage like tiny sunny buttons.

Close your eyes and breathe in. That sweet, vanilla-like scent with hints of cherry pie? That’s Heliotrope. Also known as Cherry Pie or Garden Heliotrope, this bushy, tender perennial shrub forms a compact, rounded mound of handsome, oval, dark green leaves with prominent veins and a rough, wrinkled texture. From late spring through autumn, it produces large, showy clusters of tiny, tubular flowers in stunning shades of deep purple to violet-blue, often lightening with age. The fragrance is powerful and intoxicating, perfuming the entire garden.

Need a shrub that’s tough, polished, and works just about anywhere? Evergreen Spindle is your answer. Also known as Japanese Euonymus or Japanese Spindle Tree, this dense, bushy, upright evergreen shrub is treasured for its lustrous foliage and remarkable adaptability. It features a profusion of attractive, oval leaves with finely serrated margins and a thick, leathery, waxy texture. The rich, dark green leaves are glossy and polished, providing a clean appearance all year. In late spring to early summer, inconspicuous clusters of small, greenish-white flowers may appear, sometimes followed in autumn by showy pink capsules that split open to reveal bright orange-red seeds—a subtle, jewel-like bonus.

For a plant that perfumes the garden with every brush of the hand, Lemon Grass is an absolute treasure. Also known as Citroengras or Koorsgras in Afrikaans, this fast-growing, clump-forming evergreen perennial forms a dense, fountain-like clump of slender, arching, strap-like leaves in soft, pale green to bluish-green. When crushed or brushed, the entire plant releases an intense, refreshing, lemon-like fragrance that perfumes the air and deters insects. In ideal conditions, it may produce large, branched flower spikes, but in cultivation, flowering is rare.

Forget the flowers—this plant’s leaves steal the show. The Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine, a close relative of the edible sweet potato, is a vigorous, trailing perennial grown entirely for its spectacularly coloured, heart-shaped foliage. Depending on the cultivar, you can choose from the deep, dramatic purple of ‘Blackie’, the bright, luminous chartreuse of ‘Marguerite’, or the unique, finely cut, lacy foliage of varieties like ‘Illusion Penny Lace’. Long, trailing stems spill gracefully over pot edges or scramble across the ground, forming a dense, flowing carpet of lush colour.

If you’re after a plant that blooms almost non-stop with minimal fuss, Orange Bulbine is a true South African treasure. Also known as Hallmark Bulbine or Burn Jelly Plant, this fast-growing, clump-forming evergreen perennial features a dense, spreading rosette of fleshy, succulent, grey-green leaves that are narrow, strap-like, and shaped like long, curving fingers. From spring through autumn (and often into winter in mild coastal gardens), it produces an abundance of slender, upright flower stalks bearing clusters of small, star-shaped blooms in a warm, coppery-orange with fluffy, bright yellow centres.

If you love soft, ever-changing colours, this little succulent will steal your heart. Calico Kitten is a variegated form of our local trailing crassula, grown for its delicate, heart-shaped leaves in a stunning mix of sage green, creamy-white, and rosy-pink margins. Those pink tones intensify to hot pink and even burgundy when the plant is gently stressed by sun or drought, creating a living watercolour effect along slender, wiry reddish-brown stems. In late spring to early summer, tiny star-shaped white to pale pink flowers add a touch of fairy-tale charm.