Feijoa Sellowiana

This exotic-looking evergreen shrub produces attractive, purple-pink flowers with long, prominent red stamens in midsummer – and if grown in an environment where the temperatures do not drop below 5°C, it will often go on to produce edible fruits. As the grey-green leaves (which have a white-woolly reverse) suggest, this pineapple guava copes well with drought and salt-laden air, and this makes it a valuable specimen or hedging plant for a sheltered coastal garden. If grown for its fruit, it’s a safer bet to keep it a large pot and overwinter it in a cool greenhouse.