If you're over grasses at the moment but still need something to do the same job, there's Acacia Limelight.
It has all the attributes of its grown-up sibling the wattle, but it's little and it doesn't pop up everywhere you look - although I'd quite like it to.
Its dense, fine, brightgreen foliage looks like a big, bushy head of soft, silky hair and it looks stunning in a tall pot where it can hang over the sides and beg to be stroked.
Like most acacias, it tolerates the dry, likes lots of sun, but will put up with a bit of shade, and does well in any reasonable soil.
Make sure it has good drainage.
It rarely has bad hair days and doesn't even need much in the way of haircuts. It will grow to around 1m with a similar spread, and the mounded, cascading habit makes it perfect for banks and slopes.
Bower Beauty, the second generation, has a similar compact habit but is broader with mid-green weeping foliage. And it has been to the hairdresser to get an apricot tint at the tips.
