This is a Hebe for small gardens where its small, compact stature makes it easy to fit into confined spaces, containers and rock gardens. The pale, violet-blue flowers sit just above the close-set, small, elliptical leaves and are a good match for their crisp green colour.

The flowering season is rewardingly long, starting in summer and continuing on into autumn. Because the foliage is an attractive feature in its own right, this is a useful plant to position at the front of a border. Plant a group of three so they grow into one another and as well as creating a pleasing textural feature you will also gain a weed proof cover.

Hebe ‘Margaret’ makes a good contrast to plants with a distinctive, upright growth habit. It emphasises the form and colouring of medium size flax (Phormium) varieties such as ‘Twisted Sister’, looks good with small blue grasses such as the native Festuca coxii, and is attractive nestled in among rocks along with some real ground hugging plants such as the popular, native, mossy looking but sun loving Scleranthus uniflorus. Of course, it’s good with other small, cold hardy, handsome Hebes such as the whipcord variety ‘James Stirling’, with golden foliage like a miniature golden conifer, or green, Hebe cupressoides, which is like a mini cypress. Planted in groups with the swirling, light green native grass Carex ‘Frosted Curls’ is another interesting way to use Hebe ‘Margaret’.