Hakonechloa 'Aureola'

I have to be blunt with this one: if you are looking to edge your walkway, put in some nice accents for the shade, or toss a few colorful containers around the patio, Golden Hakone Grass deserves your close attention. So much more interesting than the ubiquitous Liriope, this is a grass with color, form, and attitude to spare.

Just a foot tall and wide, Golden Hakone Grass forms a bushy tuft of slender, pointed leaves held up and out, so that they cascade down (but don't "go limp" like that tired old edging your mother had along the driveway for 25 years). The leaves are about a foot long, and each bears a bright, narrow green stripe right up the center, surrounded by sunny yellow on either edge and toward the tip. Wow! What's more, even a gentle breeze sets the leaves in motion, so that the stripes shimmy and buckle and crisscross.

But that's not all. In fall, the leaves turn red, as if the whole Hakone Grass had been dipped in paint. (Who says Japanese Maples have the market cornered in fabulous fall color and form?) To say that it's eye-catching is just understatement—this little guy GLOWS.

Best of all, Golden Hakone Grass is a shade-lover. Imagine it among all those blues and greens that you try so hard to make look interesting. Bright yellow, rich red, rippling stripes—it's a carnival compared to the staid foliage plants that make up the foundation of most shade gardens. And it's easy, growing readily in moisture-retentive soil with good drainage (no pools of standing water). Hardy from Zone 4 through Zone 8, it's the next big thing . . . in a quivering little package.