Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Grass - One Year Later - August 2022

Right around Labor Day last year (2021), I planted a little cluster of three Hakonechloa Macra Hakone Grasses that I bought at Northwind in Wisconsin.  These were planted on the border of the north bed right around the Tree Swing Northern Red Oak tree.  They seemed to do fine during the Fall last year and then went dormant for the season.  This Spring, I marked their reemergence in May of this year and was happy to see them come back for their first true growing season in the garden.  What do they look like 11 months after their initial planting?  Here, below, is a photo showing how they've all put on size and are doing well in their spot.  The one furthest to the right is the smallest and is currently competing with a bunch of small Frances Williams hostas.

I'm really liking these and think I can see even more of these repeated in a few spots.  They prefer shade, so I can't put them close to the house, but in the beds in the back, there's tons of room for a little pop of Japanese-garden-inspired foliage bursts like this.   These seem to be faring better than the All Gold variety - both growing larger and more vigorous.  They would work around the firepit, back by the Little Honey hydrangeas and even underneath some of the Hornbeams.