By Kimberly Toscano
Few plants offer the enduring color and incredible versatility of EverColor® Carex.
From containers to garden borders, this Carex series shines year-round in gardens large and small. The wispy, golden foliage provides a perfect complement to colorful shrubs and brightens shady corners. Here are just a few of the countless ways you can use it in the garden.
1. Pair with Purple Pixie
Looking for a container recipe that will knock your socks off? With vibrant complementary colors and rich texture, Purple Pixie® Dwarf Weeping Loropetalum and ‘Everillo’ are a match made in heaven. Plant this duo in a tall container such as an urn or pedestal planter to allow Purple Pixie® foliage room to spill. ‘Everillo’ gives the combo a little lift and lots of movement. Be sure to set this container in high-traffic areas for all to enjoy.
2. Edge a Garden Path
Embrace pathways with the gracefully-arching foliage of ‘Everest’ EverColor® Carex. The flowing blades dissolve edges, creating a seamless transition between garden and walkway. Bright hues illuminate shady paths, while the compact habit makes for a low-maintenance groundcover. For a natural appearance, plant intermittently along a pathway, intermixing darker foliage and smoother textures.
3. Add Emphasis
Highlight focal points with a mass of ‘Everillo’. The radiant foliage grabs your attention, adding drama to specimens and accents in shady nooks. For greater impact, plant in masses beneath understory trees or shrubs to add emphasis. The flowing foliage also provides a soft bed around statuary, benches, and fountains, nestling them into the garden. Or, simply plant a sunny carpet to brighten dark corners of the garden.
4. Mix It Up
Opposites attract, or so the saying goes. In the garden, opposites are explosive. Take advantage of all that fine texture by pairing ‘Everlite’ with bold foliage. Succulents make for an unexpected, yet striking combination. Try potting-up a container of aeonium, sedum, and carex. Or juxtapose spiky foxtail agave against a bed of ‘Everillo’. When selecting succulents to pair with carex, focus on those that thrive in partial sun.
5. Soften Stonework
The fine-textured foliage of ‘Everillo’ EverColor Carex masterfully softens the hard edges of stone and brickwork, settling hardscapes comfortably into the garden. Plant along flagstone paths, brick walls, and stone stairways and let the sinuous foliage work its magic. Plants tolerate a range of moisture regimes and are equally at home along streambanks and pond edges, or rock gardens. Set carex around water gardens and dry creek beds among other marginal plants, or plant as a deer-resistant component of the woodland garden.
More to Love
There is so much to love about the EverColor Carex collection. Cold tolerant and evergreen, these tough groundcovers provide lasting color in the garden and thrive in containers. Stunning variegation and a variety of color combinations provide endless opportunity for pairing. Which EverColor Carex will you plant?
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