Phalaris arundinacea Strawberry and Cream

Phalaris arundinacea var. picta 'Feesey', also sold under the name 'Strawberries and Cream', is a reed canary grass with particularly decorative variegated foliage. This perennial grass bears leaves striped with cream and bright green and heavily flushed with soft pink in spring. It is a very architectural bank plant for large moist borders, and can also be grown in a large pot.

This cultivar belongs to Poaceae, the grass family. The species, commonly called reed canary grass, false reed, or gardener's garters, is a rhizomatous perennial of cool to moist environments. It is native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Europe, including France, Asia, North Africa, and North America. In the wild, it grows in ditches, low reed beds, waterlogged meadows, on the edges of ponds, and along riverbanks. 

'Feesey' is a horticultural selection attributed to the British grass specialist Mervyn Feesey; it is sometimes named 'Strawberry and Cream', 'Feesey’s Form' or 'Woodside'. Compared to the type species, which is entirely green and very aggressive, it is much more ornamental, lower-growing, and less expansive, without losing its running temperament. The plant forms an upright, flexible clump that spreads rapidly via its rhizomes. It typically reaches 60 to 90cm in height, up to 1m in flower, for a width of 80cm to 1.50m, and much more if allowed to spread in rich, moist soil. Its leaves are linear and quite broad for a grass, measuring 20 to 35 cm long; they are striped with bright green and cream-white, heavily flushed with pink when nights are cool. In summer, the pink fades and the foliage becomes green and cream. The smooth, hollow stems, like those of a small reed, bear whitish-green to purplish-pink panicles in June-July, turning straw-beige. The foliage is semi-evergreen to deciduous, depending on the climate.
Fun fact: its English common name 'gardener’s garters' evokes the striped ribbons of old garters, a very apt image for this grass that looks like a strip of fabric.

The reed canary grass 'Strawberries and Cream' is perfectly hardy. It will grow in any garden soil that does not dry out too much in summer, but will reach its full potential in moist soils. The faded inflorescences are decorative in winter near a pond. Its running habit is useful for stabilising the banks of a natural pond or a large water feature. According to some studies, reed canary grass improves soil quality and the biodiversity of the sites where it is grown. You can associate it with other vigorous bank plants such as Iris pseudacorus 'Variegata', a robust swamp iris with variegated foliage, Carex elata 'Aurea', a golden grass, or Ligularia dentata 'Britt-Marie Crawford', a large perennial with dark foliage that creates a beautiful contrast with the light leaves of the Phalaris.