Olearia virgata ‘Lineata’

A large evergreen shrub from New Zealand with gracefully arching stems and needle-ish foliage which looks akin to a stretched rosemary. Clusters of silvery leaves are spaced along each stem with almost pedantically even spacing: imagine a string of barbed wire. That’s not to sell this shrub short: the density and profusion of stems make it a very attractive and unusual plant for the discerning gardener and you won’t spot many in the average plot. Trunks, when they form, are greyish-silver and deeply furrowed. Flowers are produced all along the stems in great profusion. Their impact is nasal rather than visual: from a distance you’d barely spot their teeny buff puffs but the sweet scent they pump out is powerful and pervasive. Plant one for the scent alone.