Diascia barberae is a mat-forming perennial from South Africa that most gardeners in warmer climates treat as an annual, and it repays that approach generously. Reaching about twelve inches tall and spreading eighteen inches wide, it produces a continuous wash of pink flowers from spring into fall, interrupted only during the peak of summer heat when it briefly retreats. A hard shearing at that point encourages a strong autumn return.

It performs best in climates with lower humidity, where its preference for moist, organically rich, well-drained soil and full to part sun can be accommodated without the risk of fungal pressure. In containers and hanging baskets it is particularly effective, the trailing stems carrying their flowers in loose, airy spikes over the edge. In the garden it belongs at the front of a border or along a walkway where its modest scale reads at close range.