‘Lockwood de Forest’ is a new selection of the rosemary known so well by many generations, differing in its low, ground covering habit and richer blue flowers. It grows just 30 centimetres high and spreads a metre or two in width, so it’s ground covering, weed beating capabilities are obvious. Combine this with its easy adaptability to windy situations and poor soils, even beach sands, and its potential as a shrub to please gardeners with little time to spare increases still further. Not that it won’t grow very happily in sheltered gardens with good soil too. In fact it will be a success wherever there’s good drainage and sun.

Plant it near the barbecue and throw a few stems onto the hot plate so you can enjoy the aroma of the sizzling foliage as you turn the sausages. When growing ‘Lockwood de Forest’ with other shrubs it’s a good idea to choose those that can look after themselves with equal ease. Low growing Grevilleas are good, as are compact Leucadendrons such as ‘Julie’. Use it as a groundcover in the foreground of larger growing Grevilleas such as ‘Robyn Gordon’ or utilise it for contrast with dramatic looking, tough foliage plants such as Cordylines. ‘Lockwood de Forest’ and a group of the deep bronze foliage Carex testacea at the base of one of the deep bronze Cordylines such as ‘Red Star’ looks pretty impressive and pretty well takes care of itself.