Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’ (Japanese forest grass cultivar)

Some plantings rely more on foliage than on flowers. Leaves of different textures and shades, for example, can offer much interest, even in what might seem to be unpromising locations.

This week’s selection, a chartreuse-colored selection of Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’), lights up a shady section of the Wild Garden, providing a perfect foil to the darker greens of the surrounding plants. In the next shot, look for it in the bottom left of the shot, a burst of bright green along the path. The Wild Garden Gazebo is on the right, seen from behind.

Most grasses come from open, sunny places (“grasslands”), but Japanese forest grass, as its name suggests, is a woodland plant. It is native to the forested mountains of central Japan.

By Charles Day is Wave Hill’s Ruth Rea Howell Senior Horticultural Interpreter