GRASSES FOR INSTANT BORDER COLOUR
Evergreen acorus ‘Ōgon’ will instantly lighten up the edge of a damp, shady corner, even one in deep shade, where the variegated yellow-gold foliage colour will be even more welcome. Growing to just 30cm tall and not marauding into unwanted parts of the garden, this is a great plant for adding extra value, squeezing beneath another plant where it didn’t look like there was room. It’s also very effective planted around a shaded pond edge.
Carex buchananii is another plant that instantly adds something exciting and new to the smallest of gaps with its fountain of bronzebrown strands weaving in between others in the border. Its thin strands never seem to get in the way of its neighbours, rather enhancing them and adding a layer of ‘mystique’ to the flowers that end up growing through them. Grow it in full sun in any well-drained soil and it will act as a year-round sculpture for the garden, growing to around 1m.
Hakonechloas manage to bring both an exciting and calming presence to the garden. They form dense hummocks of wide leaves that do a tremendous job of softening the edges of paths and patios and work very well in Japanese-style planting schemes. ‘Alboaurea’ has leaves in stripy yellow and green and keeps very low (35cm) while ‘Aureola’ is the same height but with brighter leaves that lean more towards lime green. They’re deciduous but if left untouched through winter the dense clumps provide valuable structure and movement to the garden before being cut back in early spring. Grow in full sun or part shade in soil that holds onto moisture well.