Phormium tenax Margaret Jones

The Margaret Jones hybrid Phormium is a variety of New Zealand Flax that is still relatively rare, among the most beautiful there are. Just catching a glimpse of it in all its splendor, in full light, makes you covet it; it unfurls a magnificent foliage resembling long ribbons in shades of pink and brown, with purple highlights and a satin finish. They are gathered in a large slightly spreading tuft, with a magnificent habit that is both upright and pleasantly anarchic. Offer this fabulous perennial a deep, fertile soil, and the gentleness of a coastal garden. Hardy down to -8/-10°C (17.6/14°F), fairly resistant to drought once well established, it will also thrive in a large pot anywhere else.

The 'Margaret Jones' New Zealand Flax belongs to the agave family. It is a recent variety derived from the Phormium cookianum or mountain flax, and the P. tenax, the larger of the two New Zealand species. This superb rhizomatous perennial grows in a large non-spreading clump. With a habit that is both upright and arching, it reaches an average height of 95cm depending on growing conditions, with a spread of 80cm (32in), or even more in fertile and moist soil. The leaves are wide, measuring  4 to 5cm in width, and 1.20m (1 and 4ft) long, slightly stiff and arched, pointed at their tips. Their color, ranging from pink-orange to purple-pink in the center, is marginated with bronze and brown, taking on a more brown tone at the end of the season and in winter. Tall flowering stems, at least 1.50m (5ft) high, appear from May to July, depending on the climate, towering over the foliage clump. They are green tinged with purple, in the form of curved flower spikes, tubular in shape, which become more or less bright red when ripe. This flowering attracts certain birds and numerous pollinating insects.

This Phormium is a plant of great ornamental value, suitable for large beds or rockeries in mild climates. Used as a solitary plant or planted in groups, it structures the space and gives a very exotic charm to the garden. It will be enhanced by ground cover plants such as  erigerons, creeping rosemary, alchemillas or blue fescues. Like large grasses, it is also a wonderful perennial for a modern garden with clean lines, for example installed on a bed of pebbles. In cold regions, it can be planted in a very large pot on the terrace or balcony, to admire its elegance in the summer, and overwintered frost-free, in a cold greenhouse or a minimally heated conservatory. In an urban garden, it softens concrete structures. For an exotic and contrasting atmosphere, it can be paired for example with Leptospermum scoparium, a pink to red ball-shaped flower in summer, Helichrysum rosmarinifolium 'Silver Jubilee', Pittosporum tenuifolium Tom Thumb, or Olearia macrodonta 'Major', plants also from Oceania, perfect for coastal areas.

The Maoris use Phormiums as we use flax, for their fibers that are exploited in the textile industry. It is probably from this ability that they got the vernacular name 'New Zealand Flax'.