Texture, drama in tropical landscape
In the last couple of years, there have been few plants that totally overwhelmed me with their beauty in the garden like Everillo. I briefly touched on this incredible sedge last winter, but now, after watching it for the second year, and seeing it through a brutal summer, I know even more that this is a must-have plant.
I have always lamented that Golden Hakone grass would not work for my climate, but now I have Everillo. Botanically speaking, Everillo is Carex oshimensis and has the common name Japanese sedge.
There seems to be no plant combination that is not made better by partnering with Everillo. The trade is suggesting it as an incredible companion with hostas and ferns, and without a doubt that would be a garden of staggering beauty.
But I have watched it in the cool season with pansies, red kale, and iridescent pink tulips. While I thought this was the ultimate, then I saw it in late spring with compact Electric Orange SunPations and in summer with tropical elephant ears and others with rusty orange coleus sporting margins that echoed Everillo’s brilliance. All of the landscape situations were mesmerizing.
For years, I have told gardeners to never underestimate the power of the fine-leafed texture that grasses give to the flower border. Sedges such as Everillo give even more testimony to this concept. Thankfully, Everillo has hit big in the market, making it easier to find. It is included in the Southern Living Plant Collection and EverColor group created by Pat Fitzgerald of Ireland, the originator of the plant.
As I said, this grass has year-round effectiveness. This means you can have the year-round golden/chartreuse lantern effect throughout the landscape.
Remember, though, it is the protection from the midday and afternoon sun that gives this incredible colour. This is a plant for a wide area, as it is cold hardy from zones 5-9.
If you think about the companion plants I’ve touted, from hostas and ferns to SunPatiens and elephant ears, you realize the importance of soil preparation. Good fertile organic rich soil will not only give you the green thumb, but the most dazzling Everillos in the neighbourhood.
But don’t stop with just the landscape. Incorporate the Everillo into your containers for the porch patio or deck. The Everillo will form about an 18-inch-tall mound with a dramatic weeping effect.
At this size, it has the ability to be as stunning as a mono-culture or standalone plant. I like them in rectangular containers, where they are used in the front of the pot, weeping over the edge, with taller foliage or flowers in the rear. This look is exceptional for window-box plantings.
Everillo will work in rock gardens, near water gardens and as those special “look at me” textural plants for the flower border. I hope you will give it a try.
Norman Winter is director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm, University of Georgia Co-operative Extension, and author of Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South and Captivating Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.