Dampiera diversifolia makes an excellent pot plant for a cool glasshouse or conservatory and also makes an impressive hanging basket plant. It produces scented deep blue flowers (this depth of blue is rarely surpassed in the plant kingdom). The flowers are held on short axillary peduncles or branchlets, with one or two leaves and a pair of bracteoles per flower. Dampiera diversifolia is a prostrate spring flowering perennial native to Queensland, Australia, and is classified in the Goodeniaceae family. The short, dense, leafy branches produce a compact ground cover which is surmounted in the spring and summer by a crown of small purple-blue flowers. Dampiera diversifolia is one of the hardiest of its genus but it requires frost-free conditions to survive outside. In the wild it prefers a clay loamy soil while in containers it will require a well-drained compost. If grown outside it is best planted in position protected from the wind and consideration should be given to avoid the invasion of more vigorous species. Propagation is normally from cuttings. After planting in the garden, it will usually require a longish period of time (12 months) to properly establish itself. Then it usually spreads quite rapidly until reaching its maximum size. In a good friable soil, suckers are produced and this aids its hardiness. A general fertilizer in spring and autumn prevents any tendency for it to die back in the centre. "The Garden" To source a supplier, the variety is included in Plantfinder on www.rhs.org.uk E-mail: info@rhs.org.uk