There is Grass – and then there are GRASSES!
The very fashionable grasses are not
designed as carpet but as a substitute for shrubs or large
perennials. You won’t be walking on them, but you may be tempted
to dance with them. Great stands, from five to ten feet have
been a presence on large campuses or estates always. What is new
is our appreciation for their smaller editions used in private
gardens of all sizes, for landscaping commercial establishments
with green enhancements, and even in highway median plantings.
In choosing an ornamental grass for
the home garden consider size, color, the season of
inflorescence, whether it is annual or perennial, evergreen or
deciduous. Among other particulars, some ornamental grasses are
not grasses. They can be a species of another genus.
Sedges (Carex) is a vast genus with
1500 or more species, most of which have grass-like foliage and
small grass-like flowers. Two others, mondo grass (Ophiopogon)
and blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium) behave in the garden as a
decorative grass without being a grass and the familiar liriope
belongs to the lily family and is sometimes called lilyturf.
Carex varies in its cultural
requirements: some are happy in dry soil, others need moist and
fertile soil. All of them do well in sun or partial shade.
Several species have golden foliage and some sport reddish brown
leaves. The names of some newer varieties give a clue to their
appearance: ‘Evergold’, ‘Silver Sceptre’, ‘Ice Dance’, ‘Gold
Fountains’, ‘Capuccino’. The heights, too, may vary, from one to
three feet.
Less towering than other feather reed
grass is Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Forster’ with
pink-bronze inflorescences that fade to buff. The clump is about
two feet tall but the flower stems sway as tall as six feet.
C.a. ‘Overdam’ has leaves with pale yellow margins and stripes
that fade to pink flushed white with age.
Miscanthus is surely one of the most
popular grasses, surviving in poor soil and hot sun. My favorite
is M. ‘Morning Light’ a four foot but delicate plant with a fine
light line on the foliage. Miscanthus sinensis (Eulalia grass)
is deciduous, clump-forming perennial with arching blue/green
leaves. ‘Cabaret’ has broad mid-green leaves with conspicuous
white stripes. It can get very tall, a hedge or screening
selection. M.s. ‘Zebrinus’ is broadly arching with creamy white
or pale yellow horizontal bands on the leaves and grows to about
four feet. My zebra grass has lost its stripes which is a shame.
I wonder if a new cultivar M.s. ‘Gold Bar’ which grows slowly to
five feet in eight years might stay barred?
Other grasses for full sun include
the Pennisetums with sizes for every occasion. These grasses add
structure to the winter garden as well as food for birds. Some
varieties will seed themselves en masse so you must deprive the
birds if you don’t want to be digging them out of the garage
apron. The seed heads are lovely if promiscuous. Another group
of graceful grasses is the native switchgrass, Panicum..
‘Shenandoah’ is a bright burgundy and ‘Heavy Metal’ is steely
blue. Also blue are the native bluestems, Schizachyrium
scoparium. They are light in effect and small enough to join the
perennial bed.
Impressed by the pictures in the AHS
A-Z encyclopedia of Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, the small
golden variegated Hakone grass, I planted a 2-inch pot of it
where it could be easily watered and shaded from hot afternoon
sun. It died. My children suggest that gardeners of a certain
age buy larger specimens of these choice things. I have ordered
a replacement – quart size.
The Hakone grass is a genus of one
species and H. macra is a calming green. There are newer
cultivars in this year’s catalogs. One, H.m.’Beni Kaze’, has
green leaves in summer that turn a brilliant red in fall.
‘All-Gold’ has chartreuse leaves and rather than arching leaves,
the ‘All-Gold’ leaves are erect and the plant will slowly spread
to become a ground cover. A Hakone grass that tolerates more sun
is the white striped variety, ‘Albo Striata’.
There are always exceptions, but
generally these deer proof grasses need little care and reward
you with movement that enhances any place they grow. If they are
mulched they won’t need fertilizer nor additional water once
established.
If you own a pot with an unusual style or
eye-catching color or decoration, a selection of grasses would
be the perfect complement. Coupled perhaps with a sedum or
euphorbia you would have a symphony of greens that would not
compete for attention but instead, would gather more.