Any relation to Helianthemum has an in with me, but this shrubby perennial has a lot of charm on its own. As the name suggests, it’s a cross between Cistus and Halimium. The 2-inch wide crepe-y white flowers have a purple-black spot at the base of each petal and a crown of yellow stamens over a golden center. The leaves are a soft grey-green. It grows 2 feet tall and spreads about 4 feet wide. Full sun in well-drained soil is great, but a dry slope or seaside is also acceptable, as long as it’s not a windy location. Halimiocistus is hardy to zone 8. It would look great in a rock garden with other rockroses and sunroses, or at the top of a wall. It might be a nice boulevard plant. This is the plant today because I like it and just learned about it when I noticed it flowering in the nursery. It has nothing to do with how anxious I am for Isil to arrive.

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