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Ornamental grasses
When Canadians were introduced
to the concept of planting tall
growing grasses in their gardens,
most of us were unsure of what to
make of the concept. Grass, after
all, was something that you grew to
walk on and set off the rest of your
home landscape. This “new” stuff is
only cut once a year (spring) and is
planted in the garden, not around it.
As time passed, we were exposed
to the exceptional work of some
bold and creative garden designers
and landscape architects—chief
among them the now-famous Piet
Oudolf, from the Netherlands—who
incorporated the use of ornamental
grasses into their garden designs.
What we learned is that the use of
ornamental grasses does not have
to be limited to formal gardens and
that each member of this extensive
family has its own attributes worthy
of attention (with some invasive
exceptions).
Mark is the proud owner of about
20 different ornamental grasses
and he loves them, in spite of the
fact that he has a background in
traditional garden design more in
keeping with the English cottage
garden than anything else.
Sowhygrowthem?
- Drama.Theycangrowlarge,
producinganinterestingfocal
pointina sunnygardenwherea
“destination”plantisrequired. - Fallandwinterinterest.Do
notcutdownyourornamental
grassesinfall,asmostwill
standthroughthewinter
months,blowinginthewind
andattractingsongbirdswith
theirheavyseedheads.Aslight
snowgathersonthemfirstthing
inwinter,besuretohaveyour
cameraready. - Insectsanddisease.Thereare
nonethatarea significantbother. - Droughtresistance.Wantto
takea summervacationandnot
worryabouthavingtowateryour
garden?Thesearepartofthe
answer,providingthatyouhave
atleasta halfdayofsun—amust
forallornamentalgrasses. - Defininga borderorboundary.
Wehaveseentallvarietiesused
effectivelyasa seasonalscreen
or“hedge,”aswellasshorter
onesusedtodefinegardenspace,
muchthewayboxwoodhasbeen
usedforgenerations. - They just get better.
Ornamental grasses belong in
the same category as day lilies,
monarda (bee balm), hostas and
the like, in that they will grow
and mature into their space
over three to six years, at which
time they lend themselves to
dividing—a great opportunity to
give them away or spread the joy
around your yard.In our opinion, ornamental
grasses fall into two categories:
travellers and clumpers. You want
to avoid the former at all costs. A
popular traveller is ribbon grass
(Phalaris arundinacea): great
looking in a pot, it is a complete
nuisance in a garden, where it will
move through most any soil, under
fences, over tree roots and into
places that it has no business going.
Do not plant the travellers. Always
ask at your retailer if you are buying
a clumping grass, and if you are not,
do not buy it.When to plant?
Ornamental grasses can be
planted in spring, summer and
fall. We prefer to wait for fall
planting. Ornamental grasses
lend themselves extremely well
to fall planting, as they will put
down roots between now and the
hard freeze-up of November or
December, providing a foundation
for aggressive growth next spring.
Also, the plants offered for sale at
the end of the gardening season are
often in bloom, so you will get an
accurate view of the flower and seed
head before you plant it. Not so in
the spring!GARDENING: ORNAMENTAL GRASSES