Ophiopogon japonicus

Ophiopogon japonicus, Green Mondo Grass, is a striking ground-covering evergreen perennial from Asia. It forms tufty clumps gradually creating a highly attractive mat-like carpet. Much used by garden designers in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, it hasn't caught on in quite the same way in the UK as Black Mondo Grass, Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'. This is a shame as it is just as attractive and in some ways more so, its green linear leaves creating a vibrant, bright and alive sensation on the eye that is less inclined to drain the light from a planting as its darker relative. Its foliage is somewhat softer and less leathery than Black Mondo Grass and is denser, having a more 'tufty' quality resembling a small Liriope. It growth is also perhaps a little faster although Ophiopogons do not spread as quickly as true grasses, their stolons taking time to creep through the soil.

Ophiopogon japonicus makes an ideal edging plant, defining an area but it is also excellent in bolder broader statements where space permits.

The small white flowers and bright blue berries that follow are relatively insignificant but nontheless very attractive.