Erigeron karvinskianus

A mounding groundcover perennial that produces a profusion of small daisy-like flowers for much of the year. It cascades over walls and softens the edges of paths and planters.

Mexican fleabane is one of the longest-blooming Mediterranean garden plants, producing a constant cloud of small daisy-like flowers from March through November — buds open white, then mature through pink to fading mauve, so the plant always shows multiple shades at once. In mild coastal climates it flowers year-round with only brief winter pauses. The plant self-seeds gently into stone wall cracks, paving joints and gravel paths, naturalising into a soft drift of motion and colour. Hardy to -10°C, evergreen, drought-tolerant once established, with a finely textured spreading habit 20–40 cm tall. Cut back hard in late winter to refresh, and tolerates poor stony soils.

Erigeron karvinskianus is one of the most useful soft-edge plants in Mediterranean garden design. Plant it along the cracks of dry stone walls, between flagstones, at the edges of gravel paths, in the toe of steps and at the front of borders where it will spill and self-seed into a constantly flowering soft cloud. The white-pink palette combines with absolutely everything — lavender, rosemary, santolina, sage, salvias, roses, herbs — and is particularly beautiful softening the hard lines of paving and walls. In small spaces, two or three plants will become a self-sustaining presence within a year. Plant near seating to enjoy the constant low buzz of pollinators it attracts.