Walk into the shade of a mature Natal Mahogany on a hot summer’s day, and you’ll immediately appreciate its generous spirit. Also known as Rooiessenhout, this stately evergreen tree develops a wide, spreading crown of long, compound leaves—each made up of 3-5 pairs of dark, glossy green leaflets plus a terminal one. The smooth bark starts pale grey to dark brown, sometimes becoming rougher and fluted at the base of very old specimens. In late winter through spring (August to November), look closely and you’ll spot small clusters of sweetly scented, creamy-green flowers. But the real show comes later: rounded, brownish capsules split open to reveal large, shiny black seeds, each wrapped in a fleshy, bright red aril—like nature’s own jewellery.

Even without its cheerful blue blooms, this shrub’s creamy-white variegated foliage would still steal the show. The Variegated Blue Felicia Bush, also known as Variegated Blue Marguerite or Variegated Blue Daisy, is a compact, evergreen sub-shrub that forms a neat, rounded mound of small, oval leaves—rich green with beautiful splashes and margins of creamy-white. From spring through summer and well into autumn, it produces an abundance of solitary, daisy-like flower heads in striking sky-blue to deep violet-blue, each with a cheerful, bright golden-yellow centre, held on slender stems above the foliage.

If you need a tough shrub that still looks elegant, Coastal Rosemary is a fantastic choice. Also known as Australian Rosemary, this compact, rounded evergreen shrub has small, narrow, grey-green leaves arranged in whorls around the stems—reminiscent of culinary rosemary but softer and more silvery. The undersides are covered in a dense white felt, adding subtle colour variation. From spring through summer (and often sporadically all year in mild climates), it bears an abundance of small, delicate, tubular flowers in white to pale lilac-blue, each with tiny orange-to-purple spots on the lower half. Those dainty blooms attract bees and other beneficial insects.

For a plant that spills over the edges of pots like a waterfall of colour, Ivy Geranium is hard to beat. Also known as Cascading Geranium or Klimopmalva, this scrambling evergreen perennial has smooth, somewhat succulent trailing stems that can grow up to 2 metres long, clothed in distinctive, fleshy, ivy-shaped leaves that are glossy, bright green, and often have five-pointed lobes. From spring through autumn (and often year-round in milder coastal gardens), it produces an abundance of beautiful, five-petalled flowers in shades of pale pink to mauve, often with darker streaks in the centre.

Close your eyes and imagine the scent of Provence. That’s French Lavender. Also known as Toothed Lavender or Fringed Lavender, this compact, spreading evergreen shrub forms a dense, bushy mound of upright branches clothed in narrow, greyish-green leaves with beautifully scalloped or toothed margins. Those leaves are highly aromatic and slightly sticky, releasing the classic, soothing lavender fragrance when brushed. From late winter through spring and summer, slender stems bear short, dense spikes of small, pale violet-blue to purple flowers, each topped with showy, papery purple bracts.

Some shrubs give you colour for a few weeks and then call it quits. Not this one. Cape Mallow, also known as African Mallow or Dwarf Hibiscus, is a soft, upright evergreen sub-shrub that blooms from late winter or early spring right through to the first autumn frosts. Its distinctive feature is the tiny, deeply three-lobed dark green leaves that are slightly aromatic and covered in soft hairs, creating a light, airy, almost lacy backdrop. From that delicate base emerge masses of five-petalled, saucer-shaped flowers in pale pink to deep mauve or fuchsia, each with striking darker veining radiating from the centre.

Look closely at this succulent, and you’ll see why it’s called Paddle Plant. Also known as Flapjacks or Desert Cabbage, this unique, rosette-forming succulent features large, rounded, fleshy, stalkless leaves that can grow up to 15 cm long and 9 cm wide. Those distinctive leaves are a soft, powdery grey-green to silvery-white, covered in a delicate, waxy bloom. In full sun—especially during cooler winter months—the leaf margins blush with stunning shades of deep red to burgundy, creating a breathtaking, ever-changing display. After several years, usually from autumn to spring, it sends up a tall, single flower spike reaching over 1 metre, bearing dense clusters of sweetly fragrant, golden-yellow, urn-shaped flowers. After this spectacular event, the main plant dies, but not before producing numerous small offsets at its base.

In a world of green gardens, this plant dares to be different. Black Mondo, also known as Black Lilyturf or Black Dragon, is a stunning, evergreen perennial treasured for its striking, near-black foliage and its dramatic, ground-covering habit. It forms dense, low-growing tufts of arching, strap-like leaves that mature to a deep, rich purple-black, appearing almost jet black in certain light. That incredible, dark foliage creates a dramatic, textural carpet that provides the ultimate contrast. In summer, short spikes of small, bell-shaped flowers in soft lilac or pinkish-white appear, followed in autumn by glossy, pea-sized, ornamental jet-black berries.