In article SQdUc.22491$mD.17670@attbi_s02, "Pam - gardengal"
wrote:

Janet, I too, am particulalry fond of hebes. They grow very well here in the
PNW, but I think are much less common in other parts of the US - I've not
even seen too many different ones offered in California, which seems to have
a preponderance of other plants originating from NZ.

'Nicola's Blush' is my current fave and I'm not even a fan of pink flowers!
It is just such a strong performer with such a long lasting bloom period. I
grow all of the others you mention as well as a number of the cupressoides
and the variegated cultivars of speciosa. Even with last year's awful
winter - one of the worst we've had in some time - my 'Amy' bloomed right
through the snow and cold in January. Great container plants, too.

pam - gardengal

This year I planted a variegated H. speciosa which has loved the nasty hot
summer with only moderate watering. The seller warned it might not survive
the winter, & when I looked it up on line, some mixed advice, but many
saying it doesn't like even zone 8 winters; & on one of Cisco's local
shows, he says his dies every winter but he always plants another for each
year (which I wouldn't like to do). I'm really counting on this not being
all that tender, & that it will not be bothered by winter in an enclosed
unwindy sunny spot, in a raised bed that drains utterly, as I want it in
the garden for years to come.

Of my few hebes, the oddest is Hebe ochracea, or whipcord hebe, which
looks rather like a dwarf cypress. It never bloomed until this year --
then all it had were teency white flowers of little consequence. Even so,
as an imitation of a needled evergreen it's just cool.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com