High on Grass Part 1

Small and medium sized Grasses

In this second part of the series of ornamental grasses[a] I will be talking about some of my favorite small to medium sized ornamental grasses I love to use in the field.

Small Grasses

Small in size but definitely big on impact is one of my favorites Festuca ovina var. glauca ( Zone 4-8) or blue fescue. This little guy may make it to about 10 inches high, but I doubt it! Its wonderful grey-blue color in its tight tufted form will provide a nice contrast to other plantings in your yard. Fantastic planted in small groups amongst a rock garden or at the front border of a planting bed, or use along pathways and in drought-tolerant and or Mediterranean-themed gardens. This grass is a native of temperate regions of Europe, but should not be invasive if planted in your yard.

Another grass that has some impressive coloration would be the Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrical ‘Red Baron’ Zone 5-9). This little guy stands around 16 inches high and has impressive coloration with bright red tips that may extend on some blades all the way to the ground creating wonderful contrast within the grass itself. Very effective planted en masse (although be aware it can get invasive if it is quite happy!) or in small clusters to create a dramatic focal point in your garden.

Blood Grass & Blue Fescue creating fun contrast and texture in this yard

A wonderful North American native that is well worth having in your garden would be the Mexican Feather Grass (Stipa tenuissima) (Zone 7-11). This grass is a must to plant in large groups as its impossibly hair-like filament grass blades reach about 2 feet above ground with its wispy, feathery seeds capturing every puff of breeze to creating the impression of ripples moving through a still pond. Gorgeous! Despite its delicate looking nature, this is actually a tough customer and can withstand drought wonderfully (being a native of Mexico, New Mexico, and Arizona). This is another grass that can be a little too happy in some yards and can easily get invasive if allowed to. Not always a bad thing though, as it is a fantastic solution for erosion control on sunny dry slopes!

Small, clean, and fun with its playful, relatively large, feathery seed heads dancing above its clean 10-inch long grass blades Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Little Bunny’ (Zone 6-9) is too cute to pass up for your yard. Effective if planted by itself, but even better with a few in a group. Or plant this Aussie native in containers as it has year round beauty being an evergreen within its climate zone.

Mid Size Grasses

Now we are getting into some true foundation type grasses that can make a dramatic statement. My all time favorite ornamental grass would have to be Stipa arundinacea or New Zealand Wind Grass (Zone 8-15). This grass has perfectly formed upright, bright chanteuse green, grass clumps that reaches about 18” high above ground. By midsummer the feathery, bronzy tinted, feather seed panicles float majestically above the grass to create a surreal effect…especially when a breeze is moving though a stand of these New Zealand natives. These seed heads are great to be added to fall cut flower arrangements for a festive, fun look. This grass gets about 3’ high with seed panicles in full bloom.

Another favorite of mine, but was sometimes a tough sell to my clients, is the Carex flagellifera or Bronze Sedge (Zone 7-9). I suspect my clients’ main issue with this plant is that its natural color is an earthy brown…but don’t knock it until you try it! Its wonderful wire-like grass blades sets such an impressive foundation that all your other plant choices will stand out and look just that much more dramatic when they are all tied together. We love it for its drought tolerance and year round appeal being an evergreen (or ever-brown in this case). It can reseed itself but I haven’t seen it ever get to an invasive status.

Check out this transformation mainly using grasses and sedges for low maintenance and year round color and texture for this circular driveway

I will next be talking about some wonderful large grasses that are some favorites of mine. But before we leave the topic of the smaller ornamental grasses…I would love to hear from you about your favorite smaller grasses and how you use them in your landscape?

High on Grass Part 1

What is it?

Like clinging to a memory of a time now past, the last culprit in my garden was holding on strong. I gamefully tried to release its final grip from a decadent life of indulgence I simply was not willing to enable anymore. With a final deep tug the Hybrid Tea Rose finally gave away (a bit too easily) and I flew to muddy ground in a comical display that rivaled the best flops the Italians could give us in the World Cup.

Of course my main concern was not being thrown into the mud, but the thorny twisted trunk that was flying to ground with me at break neck speed. So with an ungraceful twist and toss I was able to avoid being punctured, in exchange for having not one clean square inch left on my body. Sheepishly I looked up to make sure no neighbors just happened to be walking by with a video camera in hand. Assured that I would not be the next YouTube sensation I quickly skirted around to the backyard to pot up Mr. Rose for later delegation to my mother’s gorgeous and very thirsty rose garden, and (albeit with a wee bit of humiliation) celebrate the first stage of my front yard transition being complete!

Thirsty lawn being removed

New gorgeous drought tolerant yard!

This transition had been long in coming….especially considering that I was already convincing many of my landscape design clients to do away with their front lawns and other water hogging plantings. The direction I was trying to steer them in addressed one of their main concerns– reducing the amount of water being used in their current landscapes.

This concept is called xeriscaping, which essentially is defined as the reducing or elimination of the supplemental water that is used for gardening or landscaping. You can also hear it referred to as drought tolerant landscaping or Smart Scaping. Typical strategies include:

-  Use of plants resistant to drought
-  Elimination of plants and or sod that typically require excessive water
-  Converting any watering you are doing from sprinklers to a drip system that waters infrequently.

More people than ever are concerned about Xeriscaping, either because they are having water meters being installed in their neighborhoods, or because they want to minimize their impact on the Earth’s resources.

Now is the time to reconsider your current curb appeal! Do you feel that you are ready for a change? What is your current challenge facing you and your water meter?