Leaves show two faces. Westland Astelia is a clump-forming, flax-like plant. It has arching, bronze-green, silvery-backed leaves. They form a tidy, dramatic clump. The leaves are sword-like. Up to 60 centimetres in length. They have a smooth, leathery texture. The upper surface is bronze-green. The underside is silvery. This creates a two-tone effect that catches the light. A plant that shows two faces. The plant produces small flowers followed by orange berries. The flowers are not showy. But the berries are bright and attractive to birds. The berries appear in autumn. They persist into winter. A flash of orange in the grey months. A meal for a hungry bird. Westland Astelia is very hardy. It tolerates drought, wind, salt spray, and frost. It is perfect for coastal gardens, modern landscapes, borders, and mass plantings. The bronze-green foliage provides a warm, earthy colour. It contrasts beautifully with green and silver plants. A garden plant that asks for nothing but sun and soil. The cultivar is named after the Westland region of the South Island. This is a wild, rugged area known for its rainforests and glaciers. The plant captures the spirit of Westland. Tough. Resilient. Beautiful. A piece of the wild coast, tamed for the garden. To find Westland Astelia is to look in gardens and landscapes throughout New Zealand. It is a plant of cultivation. Not of the wild. The arching, bronze-green, silvery-backed leaves create a dramatic clump. A piece of Westland in the garden. A reminder of the mountains and the rain. But in the garden, it does not feel the wind off the Tasman Sea. It does not taste the salt spray. It just sits there, bronze-green and tidy, waiting to be admired. And that is a quieter life than the one its ancestors lived.