Hebe sutherlandii .

Delicious grey leafed evergreen blobs. Could reach 3ft wide by 1ft tall eventually. Incredibly reliable. Lots of little white flowers in summer. They need light and any reasonably well drained soil. If you live locally, see the ones by the mini roundabout by Harwoods Garage on the A29 north of Billingshurst. I think they get driven over from time to time but they still look lovely. They form a soft greyish cushion insinuating themselves round the fence posts. I must tell Harwoods that their Hebes have a small fan club. I'm sure they'd be delighted to know.

All the tiny leafed little blobby Hebes have the great attribute of looking like they've been clipped when they haven't. A great boon for the idle gardener and the reluctant topiarist. However, one of the points about topiary is you clip the plants regularly to keep them the same size. This means that however idle or reluctant you are in the gardening department, you might have to clip these occasionally.

Propagated by cuttings.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.