Plant Finder

Small deciduous tree. Leaves are small, narrow and green in colour. Flowers are small, rose-pink in colour and are borne in spring. The flowers are carried in small spikes along the previous years growth. Tamarix parviflora grows to a height of about 5m. This plant is drought tolerant.

This plant forms a bush suited to dry conditions. It has a lacey silver foliage which is soft and much-divided. Leaves are small, toothed and a green silvery colour. Flowers are not visible. Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum grows to a height of about 1m and a width of 1m. This plant is drought tolerant.

Evergreen shrub with white stems. Leaves are grey-green in colour on top and white beneath. Flowers are small, blue in colour and are borne in summer. A sheltered, well-drained site is vital for the plant to grow well. Teucrium fruticans grows to about 1m wide and 2.5m high. This plant is drought tolerant.

Kangaroo Grass is an ornamental grass, not turf. Its leaves are blue but later maturing to red, especially in winter. Its flowers are white in colour and are present pretty much all year round. Themeda australis normally grows to 30-90 cm high but sometimes can grow to as much as 3.5m high. This is a native Australian grass and a valuable seed source and shelter for birds, butterflies and frogs.

Vigorous, clump-forming plant. Leaves are narrow, straight, greyish green in colour and about 30cm long. Flowers are large, fragrant, and lilac in colour. These are borne from mid-summer to early autumn. Tulbaghia violacea grows to about 60cm tall and 25cm wide.

Spreading deciduous tree with peeling orange/brown bark. Leaves are oval shaped, toothed, leathery, glossy, dark green in colour and about 6cm long. Flowers are very small, red in colour and are borne from late summer to autumn. Following the flowering is the production of green fruit. Ulmus parvifolia grows to about 18m tall and 12m wide.

Bushy evergreen shrub. Leaves are narrow, oblong shaped, dark green in colour and about 10cm long. Flowers are small, white in colour and are produced in late winter and spring. Following the flowering is the production of dark blue-black fruit (~6mm long). Viburnum tinus grows to about 3m tall and 3m wide.

Fast-growing, tall palm tree with a thin trunk that gradually decreases in width up to the crown. Leaves are large (1m), broad, sharply toothed. Dead foliage forms a saggy cover that surrounds the trunk. Flowers are creamy pink, tubular and are borne in panicles mainly in summer. Washingtonia robusta grows to about 25m tall and 5m wide.

This bushy shrub is erect when young but then becomes more open as it matures. Its leaves are straight, narrow, about 2cm long, and are dark green above and white beneath. The flowers are white to pale blue in colour and about 1.5cm across. These are borne in cymes from late spring to early autumn. Westringia fruticosa grows to about 1.5m tall and 1.5m wide.

Spreading medium shrub. Leaves are oval-shaped, and green in colour. Flowers are a soft mauve colour (sometimes they are white). Flowering occurs from spring to summer. This plant requires regular pruning. Westringia glabra grows to about 2.5m high and 2m wide.

A striking form and a useful feature plant, particularly amongst softer shrubs and perennials. Adam's Needle has long green spiky leaves in a fan or globe with masses of creamy flowers on long spikes in Summer. Yuccas are generally highly drought tolerant coming from the dryer regions of the Americas as perennials, shrubs and small trees.

This is the largest of the Yucca species and grows only in the Mojave Desert. Flowers are bell-shaped, with 6 creamy, yellow-green petals. They have an unpleasent odour and are borne mostly in spring. Following the flowering is the production of oval-shaped fruit. This fruit is fleshy and grey/brown in colour. Yucca spps. varies in height from 4.5m to 12m and in width from 0.3m to 0.9m.

The deciduous Fig tree grows up to 5m in height and is quite drought tolerant once established. Its edible fruits form over many months and are easily cultivated. Many different varieties are available although care should be taken for weed potential.

The Curry Plant is named for its pungent-smelling foliage, particularly during a hot day in summer. It forms a small shrub, 50cm in height with silver narrow leaves. It is useful as a low-clipped hedge it can also be left to grow in a natural rounded form.

A variable herb shrub growing up to 1.5 m in height, Lavender is a widely cultivated flowering plant. Its attractive and fragrant spikes of blue flowers in spring-summer make it one of the most widely-cultivated ornamental plants. Easy to grow, the main task is to prune during or after flowering. Lavender does not like humidity. In the tropics you can indulge yourself and try and grow it as a potted annual in the dry season.

The Lemon is an essential Mediterranean Garden plant. Most varieties grow between 2 and 3m in height. Sensitive to frost and poor drainage, once established the Lemon produces good fruit in a range of conditions.

With its large, silver leaves and wonderful statuesque form, the Globe Artichoke deserves a place for these features alone. A perennial with a number of different varieties, the green-purple edible flower buds can be harvested over late spring and summer.

Common Thyme is a well-known garden herb. It forms a sprawling, woody sub-shrub of wiry stems, rarely growing more than 20cm in height. Best grown in a full sun location there are many different forms of this excellent kitchen herb. Will be short-lived in humid conditions but is easily propagated from stem cuttings. It prefers alkaline soil and where drainage is poor it will grow in pots or hanging baskets.

A deciduous woody climber from south-eastern China, this plant is tolerant of low water conditions once established. It produces masses of orange-red trumpets of flowers over summer and is tolerant of a range of soil and climatic conditions however it needs a strong pergola to support its vigour and growth.

The humble grape is one of the toughest and most drought tolerant climbers. Many varieties exist including table grape, wine grape and colourful autumn foliage forms. Specialised pruning is generally required for fruiting varieties. Grape vines prefer dry summers and while cultivars may cope with subtropical regions they are not recommended for the tropics.