I have a thing for funky looking plants. Especially when they are super easy to take care of! These are both perennial plants that I put in pots in my backyard. This is the second year they have come back and I love how easy they are to take care of. Honestly, I rarely water them, and they do just fine.
I love keeping my pots simple, and I love to show off the shape and texture of funky green perennial plants by planting one per pot and allowing it to have all the attention. It ends up looking like art to me, I love the shapes and the structure of doing pots this way. It may be the hair stylist in me that is drawn to all that fun texture. It is definitely against the flow of what is popular, but it is easy on the budget and makes me happy!
Here are 3 of my favorites that I use and love:
Juncus effusus ‘Curly Wurly’ (Corkscrew Rush)
No ordinary plant, aptly named Corkscrew, has narrow, glossy green, pencil-thin stems that spiral outward from the clump to eight inches in all directions. A great deer-resistant accent plant that collectors dare not do without. This low maintenance plant prefers to be sited in a bog or other very moist environment in partial shade. Reaches eight to fourteen inches tall and eight to ten inches wide.
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. For a neat appearance, remove old foliage before new leaves emerge. Clumps are often slow to establish, but once established will spread by creeping rhizomes.
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Unique grasslike plant is ideal for adding texture to mixed containers or marketing as an indoor lifestyle plant. The short, billowing mound of soft green leaves is accented by flower spikes that look like “fiber optic” strands. Easy-to-grow plants make a dense, mounded habit without pinching or PGRs, growing upright as a young plant and then draping as they mature. Performing well in wet conditions, Live Wire is also a good choice for planting alongside ponds and water gardens. Prefers a shady garden location, but can handle sun if moisture level is maintained.
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An evergreen arching perennial that has feathery, needle-like, stems. Foxtail Fern is often thought of as a fern but really it is not a true fern, i.e. it produces seeds rather than spores. This “Fern” is however related to the vegetable Asparagus which also has fern-like foliage. Foxtail Fern is very similar to Asparagus Fern only its growth habit is very dense and it produces tail-like fronds for a fluffy “Foxtail” look. In the summer the plant has small white flowers that are followed by bright red berries. The plant can grow 2 feet in height and to a width of 3 to 4 feet. Unique growth habit makes it an outstanding accent plant in any garden also makes a great hanging basket.
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Here is a 15 second fun video of my two youngest singing and dancing in the rain from a couple of years ago. It captures the feel of our very tiny but comfortable back yard.
