The sudden appearance of a stunning new plant in the garden is occasion for much excitement amongst gardeners, especially if it is uniquely beautiful, long-lived and well behaved. Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola') is just such a plant, and it deserves a closer look.
Hakonechloa is a deciduous grass that grows 12 to 16 inches tall with a spread of a couple feet. The slender stems support gracefully arching leaves that are to a half-inch wide and splays out in graceful mound, layering leaves atop one another in a kind of living cascade. The plant produces rhizomes and the crown slowly - very slowly - expands its place in the garden.