Outstanding Qualities

Hebe cupressoides 'Boughton Dome' caught the eye of GPP judges over the course of a three-year hebe evaluation at North Willamette Research and Extension Center, Oregon. It is a very unusual evergreen shrub, noted for its interesting foliage and bun-like habit. Small, gray-green leaves cover this tidy, mounding plant, giving the look of a dwarf conifer. Use it in a rock garden or wherever cool, gray tones are needed in the sunny parts of your garden. This slow-growing hebe can easily be damaged by more vigorous neighbors, so give it plenty of room and keep fast-growing, floppy plants at a distance. It combines well with winter-blooming heaths, cyclamen, snowdrops and spring vetchling (Lathyrus vernus). This dwarf hebe was found in Scotland by Valerie Finnis in 1970 and named after Boughton House, in Northamptonshire, UK.