The search for the garden's next ‘it’ plant usually leads us to something rare and unusual – but what if the answer has been hiding in plain sight all along?

Once upon a decade ago, I probably would've filled every spare corner of my borders with thirsty cottage garden favorites, never giving much thought to whether they could cope with another long summer. These days, though, I'm paying far more attention to the drought-tolerant plants that still look fresh when everything else is pleading for another drink.

Yes, I think we can all admit that our gardens are changing; summers are becoming hotter, dry spells are lasting longer, and our lives are getting busier. No wonder, then, that the flowering plants that survive hot weather are stepping into the spotlight (along with slow-watering tools like the genius Back to the Roots Self-Watering Terracotta Olla Pot, no less!).

This Fragrant Favorite Is The Next 'It' Plant

I found myself doing a double take while walking the dog recently as, house after house, I spotted the same unexpected plant taking pride of place in front gardens and designer-style borders; not a dramatic ornamental grass or the latest must-have perennial, oh no. In fact, it was (drum roll, please!) none other than rosemary.

Yes, everywhere I looked, it seemed as if I could see this fragrant favorite clipped into elegant topiary, woven through gravel gardens, spilling over retaining walls and softening the edges of contemporary planting schemes. And the more I noticed it, the more I wondered if I'd done my own rosemary a disservice by tucking it away beside the kitchen door ready for roasted potatoes.

In a bid to find out, I reached out to award-winning garden designer Zoe Claymore, who just so happens to be an RHS Chelsea medallist, an NAS Ambassador, and a member of the editorial board of The Garden Design Journal. If anyone had the answers, I reasoned to myself, it was her.

"Rosemary is a future-proof plant," Zoe tells me. "It's incredibly drought tolerant, thrives in sandy soils, copes brilliantly with high temperatures and needs very little care once established."

That's a pretty compelling list before you even get to the fact it's evergreen, wonderfully fragrant and completely at home in both traditional and contemporary gardens.

Unlike many ornamental plants that struggle through prolonged dry weather, rosemary seems to relish the conditions. Native to the Mediterranean, it's naturally adapted to bright sunshine, lean soils and periods without much rainfall – all qualities that are becoming increasingly valuable as gardeners look for resilient planting choices.

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I'll happily admit that I'd underestimated rosemary; to me, it was always something to snip for cooking, growing quietly in a terracotta pot near the back door. With Zoe's words ringing through my head, though, I can't stop noticing just how ornamental it really is; the fine evergreen foliage provides structure throughout the year, while its delicate blue flowers arrive surprisingly early in the season, offering an important source of nectar for bees and other emerging pollinators.

"It's fantastic for supporting wildlife," Zoe says. "Those early flowers provide valuable interest in the garden, both visually and for pollinators."

Then there's the scent! Brush past a rosemary plant and you're instantly greeted by that unmistakable aromatic fragrance. Zoe describes it as creating an "embodied experience" in the garden – one that engages far more than just your sense of sight – and I love that idea. Some gardens are beautiful to look at. The very best gardens invite you to touch, smell and properly experience them.

If you're after structure, upright varieties make brilliant informal hedges and respond beautifully to clipping. Zoe has even trained rosemary into topiary in her own compact garden, proving you don't need acres of space to make a statement. For something softer, prostrate rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Prostratus') has an entirely different personality. Rather than growing upwards, it gently cascades over the edges of containers, raised beds and retaining walls, creating a relaxed Mediterranean look while still delivering those fragrant leaves and pollinator-friendly flowers.

"I use it regularly as a spiller in container displays for sunny spots," Zoe says. "It softens the planting while coping brilliantly with heat."

I guess when it comes to the next 'it' plant, all we really want are flowers that support pollinators, foliage that looks good year-round, and plants that can handle drought without demanding endless watering. Is that too much to ask? Not if you direct your request at rosemary, it seems! So you'd best believe that the next rosemary I buy won't be hidden away among my herbs; it's getting the best seat in the garden.