I love the modest, nodding flower heads of some Euphorbia varieties before they open to reveal their lime green beauty. The flowers seem so hesitant to display themselves, as if they are embarassed to reveal their true colour to the world.

Euphorbia characias subsp. Wolfenii 'John Tomlinson' is a large shrubby, evergreen perennial that bears vivid chartreuse coloured flowers and provides great architectural interest in our West Coast gardens. The flowers last for a really long time and those flowering stems can simply be cut down to the base of the plant when finished. Be very careful when working with Euphorbias to keep the milky sap off of your skin and eyes as it can be a very serious irritant to some people.

There are so many different Euphorbias out there to suit many different garden areas. Some of the groundcover euphorbias can be really aggresive so make sure you use these in truly challenging areas such as dry shade to keep them in check. For fantastical scaley leaves on a very drought tolerant plant try Euphorbia myrsinites. Use this dinosaur like plant in containers or trailing over edges of raised beds and enjoy the unusual foliage all year long. When the acid coloured flowers open in the summer you get another excuse to rave over this unusual plant.