There are many uses for this felicia in the garden. It makes a good rockery plant or can be placed in a herbaceous border with other perennials or a mixture of annuals and perennials. It could form the front of a shrub border or be used in a large window box or planter. It can be planted singly and left free to form a low bush. Alternatively, a line of plants can make a low, informal hedge or it can be clipped to make an unusual formal one.

The place should preferably be sunny but it will flower if planted as a groundcover in light shade under trees or in small beds making a blue collar around tree trunks. It needs a light, sandy or gravelly soil with good drainage and much compost if possible. Give a dressing of fertilizer for flowering plants (with ratio of N:P:K = 3:1:5) or a general fertilizer (ratio of 2:3:2) and mix some super phosphate into the soil. Water it regularly, but moderately, especially during the dry season.

Propagate by seed or cuttings in spring (August and September). The latter method is quicker and the resultant plants should flower in about a year.

For cuttings (A. Eissell pers. comm.), select nonflowering stems and cut them just below a node. Strip off most leaves and side shoots, leaving a couple of upper ones. Place the stems in damp sand or a 1:1 mixture of fine pine bark or small polystyrene balls and sand. Cover them with a plastic bag or clear, cold drink bottle to help keep them moist. Removal of a small, vertical strip of skin will improve water absorption. Shorten the time for rooting by using rooting powder but take care not to use too much as it can burn the stems. Dip dry stems in the powder and tap off any excess before putting them in sand.

Established plants often self-seed easily so seedlings may be found nearby or at quite a distance. These can be transplanted to a new position.

Once established, this felicia is quick growing and can look good for many years. When young, it can be made to bush well if the main shoots are pinched out. Light pruning during the summer will encourage more crops of flowers. To improve appearance, cut off the many old flowers. After about three years, it may need to be cut back if it gets straggly. If it becomes frost-damaged, it will usually resprout and flower a little later than usual. The same holds for plants that survive trampling and excavations by lizard-hunting dogs! It does not seem to suffer from pests very much, making it even more carefree for the gardener.

There are many possible indigenous companion plants, with roughly similar cultivation needs. The choice will depend on the colour scheme, position of planting, plant availability and type of plants wanted - perennials or a mixture including annuals. Check flowering times to get flowers throughout the year. It would be wise, too, to use plants suited to the local rainfall pattern, although this is not essential. In a sunny place, the selection could include Geranium incanum (carpet geranium), Hemizygia transvaalensis (pink salvia), Nylandtia spinosa (tortoise berry), Pelargonium crispum (crispy-leaved pelargonium) or P. reniforme (kidney-leaved pelargonium) and Scabiosa africana (pincushion). In semishade one could use Crassula multicava (fairy crassula), Hypoestes aristata (ribbon bush) and Veltheimia bracteata (bush lily). This felicia could make an effective base for Strelitzia reginae (crane flower) in semishade or sun.

A lovely contrast can be achieved by mixing plants with different leaf types. The blue felicia bush goes well with bulbs like Agapanthus, Bulbine frutescens (stalked bulbine), Eucomis autumnalis (pineapple flower), Hypoxis hemerocallidea (star flower or African potato) and Watsonia. Another type of contrast, much used in the Pretoria NBG, is the inclusion of grey or whitish-leaved plants among the green ones. They have a cooling effect and look good in all seasons. (They are mostly from dryer areas, so one would have to watch the amount of water or have very good drainage.) Examples are Gazania rigens (trailing gazania), Helichrysum argyrophyllum (everlasting), H. splendidum ( Cape gold) and Ursinia sericea (lace-leaf ursinia). The darker leaved Euryops pectinatus (grey euryops) would also give an interesting contrast. It flowers mostly in winter.

A grouping of various daisies is also attractive and friendly looking. Plants such as Cotula spp. (= Cenia ), Dimorphotheca ecklonis (blue-and-white daisy bush = Osteospermum ecklonis ), D. jucunda ( bergbitou = O. jucundum ), Gerbera jamesonii ( Barberton daisy), Pentzia grandiflora (matricaria) and Phaenocoma prolifera ( Cape everlasting) could be planted together. Although they are not true daisies, species of Lampranthus (vygies) could also be used as the flowers look like daisies and the leaves make a good contrast. Interplanting with annuals would allow one to make regular changes to a bed. Suggested annuals are Arctotis fastuosa ( bittergousblom ), A. acaulis (bushy arctotis), Dimorphotheca pluvialis (white Namaqualand daisy), D. sinuata ( Namaqualand daisies), Felicia elongata (tricolour felicia) and Ceratotheca triloba (wild foxglove), although the last might get rather tall. Lastly, one could make a 'blue' bed by using flowers like dwarf agapanthus, Anchusa capensis (forget-me-not) and Merwilla plumbea (blue squill).