Olearia virgata - Daisy Bush

The Olearia virgata is certainly not the most spectacular of its genus, but the delicacy of its branches and foliage, weaving in a few years a dense and upright mass of green-gray color, give it this unique aspect, both austere, elegant and untamed, which belongs only to coastal plants. Its summer flowering in small white-cream daisies, is discreet, but pleasantly scented, and often surrounded by a procession of too busy bees to bother the gardener. This is one of the best evergreen bushes, along with its cousin Olearia traversii, to create effective screens by the sea. This hybrid is also one of the hardiest, most vigorous and most tolerant. 

The Olearia virgata is a large, more or less bushy shrub, taking on a somewhat unkempt appearance when it grows unchecked, or on the contrary very dense if it benefits from annual pruning. Its habit is generally conical and upright, reaching 2.50m (8ft) to 3.50m (11ft) in height and 1 to 2m (3 to 7ft) in width. Its growth is extremely rapid, approximately 1m (3ft) per year. It is a plant of the asteraceae family, a spontaneous hybrid between Olearia avicenniifolia and O. moschata, which is found in the wild in New Zealand, in peat bogs and wet areas, as well as in subalpine valleys. It can develop on a single trunk, reaching 10cm (4in) in diameter in favourable climates, or on the contrary be branched from the base. 

Its slender, angular, flexible branches bear very narrow linear leaves, 1cm (1in) long and 2.5mm (1in) wide, reminiscent of rosemary leaves. They are light almond green on the upper side, clearly covered with a white-silver to chamois felting on the underside. Flowering takes place in June-July, in the form of panicles grouping together numerous small capitula resembling small daisies, 6mm (1in) in size, with a discreet color, white to white-cream, but pleasantly scented.

Hardy to about -13°C (8.6°F), the Olearia virgata will naturally find its place in a seaside garden, where it will form a protective screen for more fragile plants in the garden. In a medium-sized hedge, it can be used alone or combined with other evergreen shrubs such as Griselinia littoralis, bushy ceanothus ('Italian Skies', 'Concha', 'Puget Blue', 'Skylark'), Atriplex halimus, Anthyllis barba-jovis, Hippophae rhamnoides, Elaeagnus angustifolia 'Caspica', or Olearia traversii. Its silhouette blends well with that of tamarisks and Grevillea. It is perfectly adapted to gardens on the oceanic facade as it is a little wary of the intense heat in summer.