Monkey Grass August Favorite

Monkey grass makes defining flower borders and paths easy.

Monkey Grass August Bee Favorite

Before I had bee hives, I knew this was a favorite bee plant. When little else was blooming, this low maintenance border plant entertained pollinator visits from bees to butterflies. 

Liriope muscari is a charming perennial that requires little and gives back a lot. It is easy to care for, heat and drought resistant, crowds out weeds and tolerates a variety of soils and light conditions. 

I use monkey grass as a border plant to mark off my flower borders and adjoining paths. Most of the year, they are bunches of long green leaves until late July, when they start to bloom.

My bees are starting to discover that monkey grass flowers are starting to bloom.

The plants start to bloom about the same time as surprise lilies. The little buds form on the spikes for a couple of weeks. Then they start to open into teeny tiny purple flowers with yellow centers.

The teeny tiny monkey grass flowers starting to bloom at Bluebird Gardens.

Sometimes I find my bees riding the flower spikes like a carnival ride, their little legs packed full of yellow pollen.

At other times, they may ignore the plants in favor of a better available pollen source.

Nevertheless, I would want to add monkey grass to any flower garden as insurance that if nothing else is blooming during Missouri's August dearth, at least these plants are available.

Do you have monkey grass in your garden?

Charlotte