Tuft Love The beauty – and versatility – of clumping grasses and plants.
Some of the most worthwhile plants in the garden are the compact and easy-care clumping species and tufting grasses. Here, Helen Young’s top six picks.
One of the best ways to use tufting plants is as edging, which helps reinforce the ‘bones’ of a garden’s design. They also provide interesting texture, contrasting well with round-leafed shrubs and bold, sculptural plants. Tufting plants look good when mass-planted in swathes, and most have the densely matted roots needed for stabilising slopes or holding back soil or mulch next to paths and pools.
DWARF AGAPANTHUS
Agapanthus varieties have evolved to include petite sizes, exciting colours and two-toned foliage. The new cultivars are mostly sterile, doing away with the problem of weediness. They love sun, are waterwise and easy-care, and can grow in most soils and conditions. ‘Snow Storm’ and ‘Snowball’ grow to 30cm and produce large white flowers above the green foliage. ‘Tinkerbell’ and ‘Golden Drop’ have vibrant, striped green-and-cream leaves to 20cm with pale-blue flowers. Dwarf blue varieties include ‘Baby Pete’, ‘Little Boy Blue’ and ‘Peter Pan’. ‘Blue Thunder’ is dark purple and ‘Baby Periwinkle’ palest mauve; ‘Silver Baby’ has white blooms, with ice-blue edges.
MAT RUSH ( LOMANDRA)
Native lomandras are a top option for low-maintenance, waterwise gardens. Most tolerate frost and coastal conditions. The original species are big with strap-like leaves, but newer cultivars offer smaller choices, with fine, grassy foliage that provides wonderful texture. ‘Tanika’ (50cm) is a proven performer with fine, bright-green leaves; ‘Nyalla’ is bluer and a little taller, while ‘Lime Tuff’ is perkier and forms a neat lime-green mound to 50cm. ‘Little Con’ is smaller at 30-40cm. ‘Little Pal’ (40cm) has bright green, slightly weeping foliage. ‘Evergreen Baby’, also 40cm, tolerates wet feet.
SOCIETY GARLIC ( TULBAGHIA VIOLACEA)
You can tell this pretty plant is related to the onion and garlic tribe by the pungent aroma of its crushed foliage and clusters of edible lilac flowers on tall spikes. It flowers through the warm months and loves the sun, surviving heat, drought, coastal conditions and mild frosts. As a bonus, it never seems to get any pests or diseases. The original species has grey-green leaves to about 50cm tall but newer cultivars offer finer, narrower leaves, variegated leaves and different flower colours. ‘Silver Lace’ and ‘Variegata’ have cream-striped foliage that gives a silvery appearance. ‘Milky Way’ (40cm) has pale lilac blooms; ‘Fairy Star’ (30cm) and ‘Galaxy’ (40cm) offer lovely pink flowers; ‘Starlet’ (20cm) is a vision with mauve blooms.
BLUE FESCUE GRASS ( FESTUCA GLAUCA)
The fine blue-silver foliage of this tussocky grass forms a neat, rounded tuft to 20cm tall, making it highly ornamental. The feathery flower plumes are twice the height of the plant, starting blue-green and ageing to wheaten tones through autumn. The blue foliage colour is most intense in full sun – in shade it becomes greener. ‘Elijah Blue’ is a cultivar of slightly deeper blue. While it grows well on the coast, blue fescue prefers cooler, less-humid climates. Good drainage is essential; drought-tolerant once established. Older plants can die out in the centre, but dividing them every few years will keep them looking fresh. Use in borders or as an accent plant, contrasted with purple, bronze or burgundy foliage.
LILY TURF ( LIRIOPE)
Closely related to mondo grass, liriopes have broadened the options for borders in shadier spots. They have wider and longer leaves than mondo grass with the bonus of flower spikes in late summer and autumn. An older variety, ‘Evergreen Giant,’ reaches 50-60cm but newer cultivars are more compact. ‘Just Right’ grows to 45cm and has pale mauve flower spikes, while ‘Royal Purple’ (30cm), features fat spikes of deep-purple blooms. ‘Isabella’ is 40cm tall and features finer leaves and pink flowers; ‘El Marco’ has purple spikes and reaches 40cm. If you’re after a white flower, try ‘Munroe White’ (50cm). ‘Stripey White’ offers striped 40cm-high foliage that gives a bright, silvery appearance to bounce light into shady places; it has white flowers. Liriopes burn in hot sun but work well as mass plantings under trees or edging for shady paths and beds. If the foliage becomes tatty, shear it off in late winter to allow fresh growth to rapidly renew in spring.
MONDO GRASS ( OPHIOPOGON)
Like the little black dress, mondo grass is a classic choice for formal and traditional gardens. It forms a neat, dark green and fine-textured edging for paths and beds, reinforcing the structure of the garden as well as providing a foil to mixed plantings behind it. It’s also good as a massed groundcover. In addition to the regular mondo species ( Ophiopogon japonicus), which grows to about 30cm tall, there are a few variants. Mini or dwarf mondo grass ( O. japonicus ‘Nana’) grows only 10cm high, making it the best choice around stepping stones or as a lawn substitute. Black mondo grass ( O. planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’) is purple-black to 25cm tall, slower growing, with pale lilac flowers in summer. Team it with lime or silver foliage for high drama. Mondo grass is at its best in part- to full-shade; it tends to burn on the edges in hot sun.