Border Planting

Border Planting

Borders to garden beds or rockeries benefit from an edging of low growing plants. Two suitable plants, both of which tolerate a large range of soils types, are the yellow bur daisy (Calotis lappulacea) and the love flower (Pseuderanthemum variabile).

Calotis lappulacea
Photograph by Heather Knowles.

The love flower demands a different set of environmental conditions – low light, moist areas. This perennial herb is a low, creeping species with dark green lance-shaped leaves that are purple on the underside. It will flourish under shrubs and trees so long as there is adequate water. A relative of the African violet, it too has flowers that range in colour from white through to lilac and purple/blue, sometimes with spots near the middle. The flowers are elongated and terminal. They occur from November through to May and attract butterflies.

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