I love plants that have the capacity to completely divide people, where they are either loved or hated. I think Ozothamnus diosmifolius is one such plant, I have only been recently converted and I must say it is partly by the discovery of all the new colours out there, pinks, oranges and the most amazing yellow.

But the main thing about these plants for me is their structure, the way they stand so upright with this cloud of flower sitting on top.

Ozothamnus were formally classified in the Helichrysum genus and if you look at these dense flower heads up close you can see why.

They also change colour dramatically as the flower heads come out, and then wane, here are a couple of my favourites Ozothamnus ‘Gold Dust’, ‘Colour Surprise’ and ‘Royal Flush’. They really need to be planted in amongst other things as when not in flower they aren’t much to look at, unless you are a big fan of heathy foliage, but popping up above or behind other medium shrubs they look great. They are approximately 2 metres tall and reasonably slender for their height, which is always an advantage for smaller gardens or tight spaces.