Hyalis argentea

Like Mary, there's something about Alice...I mean Hyalis. I first uttered "Hyalis" near the base of Argentina's Mt. Aconcagua, where it dotted the desert landscape among Bob, Carol, Ted, and...lots of cacti. The soft, silver foliage just seemed out of place, but for some reason it looked growable. Well, growable it turned out to be, despite our humid, wet summers. For us, Hyalis argentea makes a 3' tall x 3' wide mound...a combination of upright and lax stems, all laden with 3" long, pointed, silvery leaves and topped in fall with small, lavender, aster-like flowers. We never seem to have enough drought-loving silver-foliaged fillers in the garden, which is exactly where hyalis fits well among cacti and agaves. If that's not enough, the leaves contain anti-fungal terpenoids...well damn!