Acorus gramineus ‘Variegata’ (Japanese Rush)

Conventional wisdom suggests that this is only partly evergreen and likes growing on the margins of ponds and rivers. We find that neither are true : it's amazingly evergreen and doesn't need to be grown in damp places - in fact, it'll grow almost anywhere and remain looking as fresh as a daisy (even fresher) all through the year. Light shade, sunny, any soil. It spreads slowly so if you want to cover a large area, you need to be generous with the number of plants. As with any plant of this nature, old and dead leaves will accumulate after many years so occasionally cutting down in the spring to allow only new growth, would be a good idea. Remarkably, we know of no pests or diseases it's susceptible to. It's a good ground cover and gets to about 1ft high. There is another form called Acorus gramineus 'Ogon' which gets larger.