Eulalia Grass isn't truly an ornamental grass for shade, although mine are not in full sun. Too much shade causes them to simply fade away. Half a day of sun, in my climate, will do fine and permit you to enjoy these large grasses. I use some for a visual barrier hedge between my old vegetable garden and the house. This time of year, the foliage turns shades of gold and fawn, while the inflorescence fades from wine to pinky-beige. Later on, they will fade to a very light, warm beige and continue to provide graceful mounds until they are finally flattened by heavy snow or high winds. I cut them back to a bristly hedgehog mound about eight to ten inches (20.32 - 25.40cm) high in very early spring. I've found my electric hedge trimmer perfect for this job. They start to grow in late March, for me, and by May are doing their duty as a screen once again. They do tend to seed around, so you need to keep an eye out for seedlings and pull them if you don't want wall to wall shoulder-high grass. Each plant forms a slowly expanding clump with one of the toughest root systems I've encountered. Splitting up a clump calls for heavy equipment. I use an ax, but I've heard tell of those who take a chain saw to them. I know I've broken a spade trying to do it the "normal" way.
Royal ferns lose their bright chartreuse green, fading to a warm tan. Before they shatter, the color is another that is luminescent when struck by the sun. Unlike many ferns who simply collapse, they maintain their form after the color change, only spreading wider and a bit lower to make a billow instead of a fountain.
Darkest Darks
The Calico Aster is a deceiving plant. It starts out as a small tuft of greenish purple foliage in spring and just sits there while other plants are bursting with growth. After it has thought about it for a while, it tentatively puts up a slender stem or three. After checking to make sure it's still there, you tend to forget about it until you turn around in late summer and find that it has formed a substantial mushroom shape, engulfing those extra plants you stuck in next to it, thinking you had plenty of room. The slender stems branch out to form a stiff, twiggy framework, covered in late summer and early fall with hundreds of tiny white daisy flowers with wine colored centers. The stems and leaves have a purple cast that converts to blackish brown, while the flowers change to furry puffs of grayish white that turn silvery in the sun. I love this aster although its puffy seedheads, if left on the plant, will scatter minute seed far and wide, providing the gardener with hours of recreational weeding when they sprout. I hate to cut them back because I love the look of the dark stems and silvery seed heads, but I grit my teeth and do it, as I know what will happen if I don't. Don't let this fecundity stop you from growing this aster. It will do well in sun or light shade and brighten the end of your gardening season for you.
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