New Zealand gift

Our cold windy site is not conducive to most hebes, at least none of the larger leafed varieties. This tidy shrub, native to New Zealand, the ‘boxwood’ hebe (H. buxifolia), not only thrives, but seems quite happy in its wind-protected gravelly site. It makes a neat, compact, informal hedging. The bright evergreen leaves circle the branches in symmetrical whorls, and the equally neat flowers are just opening at the tips of those branches. When blooming is complete, it is easy to trim off the spent blossoms and give it a little haircut---which is about the only care it seems to need.