Watch a Fuchsia bloom sway in the breeze, and you’ll understand its enduring appeal. Fuchsia magellanica, also known as Hardy Fuchsia or Magellan Fuchsia, is a slender, upright, deciduous shrub with an elegant, arching form. It has small, ovate to lance-shaped leaves in soft mid- to dark green, sometimes with a subtle bronze tint. From summer through autumn (December to May), it produces an abundance of exquisite, pendulous flowers. Each delicate, dancer-like bloom consists of a slender, tubular pink or red tube flaring into pointed sepals, opening to reveal a shorter, frilly inner skirt of rich, vibrant purple petals. In mild, frost-free areas, small, oval, purplish-black berries may follow.

Sometimes you want a plant that just quietly does its job, looking pretty month after month. False Heather fits that description perfectly. Also known as Mexican Heather or Elfin Herb, this compact, bushy evergreen shrub forms a dense, rounded mound of small, glossy, lance-shaped dark green leaves that create a soft, heather-like effect. From spring through autumn, it produces an abundance of tiny, bell- or trumpet-shaped flowers in pretty shades of lavender, purple, pink, or white, depending on the cultivar. In milder coastal gardens, it may bloom sporadically all year round.

For a shrub that puts on a truly showy display in summer, Hebe is hard to resist. Also known as Showy Hebe or Showy-speedwell, this dense, spreading evergreen shrub has a robust, bushy habit clothed in pairs of oval, glossy, rich dark green leaves. In summer, it produces stunning inflorescences: dense, bottlebrush-like spikes up to 8cm long, packed with small flowers in shades of pale pink to intense magenta or deep purple. Each flower has two long protruding stamens, giving the flower heads a distinctive, whiskery look that pollinators love.

There’s a reason spearmint has been a garden favourite for centuries—that sweet, gentle fragrance is simply irresistible. Spearmint, also known as Garden Mint, is a vigorous, spreading herbaceous perennial with upright, square stems clothed in lance-shaped, lightly serrated leaves of soft, bright green. Brush against it, and you’ll release a delightfully sweet, refreshing spearmint scent, milder than peppermint thanks to its lower menthol content. In summer, slender spikes of small, pale purple to white flowers appear, highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

If you’re looking for a shrub that delivers bold, tropical-looking blooms with a lush, textured presence, Drakensberg Mallow is a showstopper. Also known as Mountain Mallow or Bergroos, this fast-growing, evergreen beauty is grown for its spectacular, hibiscus-like flowers that reach up to 4cm across—larger and more vibrant than its Cape cousin. From early summer through autumn, it produces an abundance of deep pink to rich purple blooms, each with striking, darker veining radiating from the centre like the spokes of a wheel. But the flowers aren’t the only draw: the large, velvety, maple-like leaves with 3 to 7 lobes give this plant a lush, dense, almost tropical feel that’s rare in water-wise gardens.

In winter and spring, this unassuming silver shrub transforms into a fluffy cloud of snowy white blooms—no wonder it’s called Kapokbossie. Wild Rosemary, also known as Wilde Roosmaryn, is a hardy evergreen shrub that forms a neat, twiggy, rounded to conical bush. Its small, linear, fleshy leaves are a beautiful silvery-grey to blue-green, covered in soft, felted hairs that give the plant a matt, luminous appearance and a wonderful tactile quality. From winter through spring (July to November), it produces an abundance of small flower heads, each surrounded by 3 to 5 conspicuous, snowy-white, papery ray petals that practically cover the entire bush, resembling a fresh dusting of snow or cotton wool.

Want a plant that spills over the edges of pots like a waterfall of golden-green coins? Creeping Jenny is exactly what you’re looking for. Also known as Moneywort or Twopenny Grass, this vigorous, prostrate evergreen perennial has slender, creeping stems that root readily at the nodes, forming a dense, soft mat of rounded to slightly heart-shaped leaves about 2–3cm across. In early to mid-summer, small, cup-shaped, bright yellow flowers nestle amongst the leaves, adding charm and attracting bees.

Those cheerful little globes of pink and white look like lollipops scattered across a rocky slope. Sea Thrift, also known as Sea Pink or Thrift, is a clump-forming evergreen perennial that forms a low, dense cushion of narrow, dark green to blue-green leaves, remaining attractive throughout the year. From mid-spring through early summer (and often with sporadic re-blooming into autumn), sturdy, upright stems rise bearing round clusters of small, papery flowers in shades of pink, white, rose-red, or lavender—a playful, lollipop-like effect.