Structural plants, great in the garden at any time, but stunning when they flower. They make increasingly dense clumps of spiky leaves, which in some species can be fearsome. When they decide to flower, they send up a tall, upright spike, packed with gorgeous creamy white flowers, the whole spike typically a metre high, two metres or more in some species. In the wild the flower stems provide food for some birds, and lookout perches of others, including hawks and falcons.

Yucca filamentosa is a great architectural plant, which makes clumps of dark green, spiky leaves, and looks good even when not in flower. But when it does flower, it becomes spectacular, with towering stems, packed with slightly creamy white, bell-shaped flowers.