It is good to have a few unusual shrubs in the garden that you can show to visitors, and they’re not that difficult to grow.

The specimen Fabiana imbricata is relatively unknown in this country but is a great choice.

It looks like a heather, but is bigger, and actually belongs to the potato family.

It flowers in early spring, is quite hardy and can either have white or violet bell-shaped flowers. The plant is lime tolerant, though in very alkaline soil it may become chlorotic.

For propagation purposes, the cuttings take very easily, and will flower the following year.

Everybody knows lilac, or syringa, but there is a really good type which seems to beat the ordinary syringa vulgaris into a cocked hat.

This is syringa x prestoniae, a cross between reflexa and villosa. It is grown a lot in Canada, as it is very hardy. It also makes a better shaped bush, with flowers appearing all over it.

The one I grow is called Elinor, with pink flowers, and has a wonderful scent.

The third shrub is one I first saw in China, growing high up on the slopes of the Himalayas. It is called coriaria, and the berries are amazing.

They are orange, and seem to shine from the inside, and the flowers are quite small and delicate.

It does run about a bit, but I do not mind that as the leaves are deeply veined and make an attractive-looking shrub.

Feijoia actually has fruit, which is rather like lychee, but I have not seen them yet as it needs a long, hot summer.

The flowers are gorgeous and well worth growing for the white petals and bright red stamens.

The leaves are greyish and white felted underneath, so it makes a good shrub to grow things with. It comes from South America, where it is called the pineapple guava.

The final small tree is a type that I read about, and had quite a job to find it. It is the fringe tree from America.

It has white flowers in June which are narrow and show up against the bright green leaves. I knew it would be good, as it received awards back in 1931.

By Pat Edwards