My Favorite Border Plant

Monkey Grass not only makes a nice border plant but it blooms in August when little is blooming.

My Favorite Border Plant

There is no doubt in my mind what plant is my favorite border plant. Ever hear of Monkey Grass? Liriope muscari is the Latin name for the most common variety of this plant family and the one I have the most in my garden.

What's not to love. It's easy to care for, heat and drought tolerant, crowds out weeds and tolerates a variety of soils including the worst my limestone hillside garden can offer. And it blooms in August to boot, a month when little is adding garden color.

I bought a start a good 20 years ago or so. Since then, I have been using the expanded clumps as a source of starts to line flower beds and add garden accents. It's easy to take them for granted because they are so easy to grown but I particularly like them in bloom.

Monkey Grass in bloom in my garden lining flower beds and adding accent interest.

These plants are also easy to divide. Once a clump is dug up, my spade can easily cut the clump into smaller starts. 

These border plants look so pretty along flower borders!

Monkey grass as my edging around bluebird gardens.

Aren't these tiny flowers sweet? Bees also like monkey grass flowers!

One of the additional benefits of monkey grass for me are the teeny tiny flowers. Bees like to visit them once the flowers start to bloom if nothing else is around to catch their attention.

Some people also give these plants a spring trim to cut off the greenery that turns brown in a USDA zone 5B winter. I don't, the old leaves melt into the ground as natural mulch and new leaves pop out and quickly take over the old dying greenery.

What is your favorite plant border?

Charlotte