Nurserypeople, garden designers and landscapers are often frustrated by their clients' expectations for plants. The miracle plants - those that grow less than two metres tall, require no pruning or maintenance, don’t drop "mess", don’t need much water or fertiliser AND flower all year - are fairly hard to come by. However there are some troopers that almost fulfill the last requirement, flowering month after month - and many of them don’t score too badly on the other requirements either.

Scaevola aemula esp. cultivars such as ‘Summertime Blues’ & ‘Purple Fanfare’ (Fan Flowers) - compact, spreading Australian plants to 20cm; masses of purple-blue fan shaped flowers from spring to autumn; very showy; sun or semi-shade; frost resistant.

Impatiens walleriana (Busy Lizzie) - succulent African evergreen (in warm areas) perennial to 60cm; bright green lush foliage; flowers in shades of red, white, pink orange & bicoloured; plants hybridise and self-seed readily; shade to semi-shade; even in cool climates this plant flowers in frost-free locations from spring to early winter.

Felicia amelloides (Blue Marguerite) - spreading South African soft shrub to 40cm; fresh green leaves; blue or lavender daisy flowers with bright yellow centres; with dead-heading it will flower for most of the year; full sun; salt tolerant.

Brachyscome multifida ‘Break O’Day’ - evergreen Australian perennial to 20cm tall; fine, much-divided foliage; small, lavender daisy flowers for much of the year; sun or semi-shade.

Lobelia erinus (Lobelia) - softly mounding South African plant usually treated as an annual; fresh green leaves; masses of tiny flowers, most often in vivid shades of blue and purple from late spring through to winter; unsuited to sub-tropical and tropical climates; self seeds readily.

Osteospermum ecklonis (Blue and White Daisy Bush) - spreading South African perennial to 60cm tall; fresh green leaves; masses of white daisies with blue centres and blue on the backs of the petals; best in full sun (close up in shade); tough & tolerates periods of dryness.

Begonia ‘Dragon Wings’ – brittle-stemmed succulent plant to 80cm; large asymmetrical fresh green leaves edged with red; pendulous coral pink flowers all year; frost-free areas.

Correa ‘Dusky Bells’ - spreading Australian shrub to 60cm tall; fresh green foliage; deep rose pink bell-shaped flowers in autumn, winter & spring; dappled to full shade; bird-attracting; frost hardy.

Grevillea spp. - bird-attracting, long flowering Australian shrubs, especially:
‘Robyn Gordon’ - low shrub to 1m; lobed leaves; red flowers.
‘Pink Parfait’ - tall, narrow shrub to 3m; lobed silvery leaves; hot pink flowers.
‘Misty Pink’ - tall shrub to 3m; lobed silvery leaves; pale pink flowers.
‘Superb’ - small shrub to 1m; lobed green leaves; beautiful salmon flowers.

Solanum rantonettii (Paraguayan Nightshade) - South American shrub or small tree to 4m; light green foliage, many purple "potato" flowers with bright yellow stamens almost all year; full sun or semi-shade; drought tolerant; fast growing.