I've grown quite fond of the hardy perennial grasses that are now such an integral part of the perennial bed. Unfortunately I live in Zone 4B, so a lot of the really nice varieties are just not hardy enough to consistently survive our winter cold.
I haven't got a large collection yet, but I do enjoy the ones I have. They seem to be relatively effortless, carewise and I don't see many pest bothering any of them to date. Perhaps that is some of their allure in so many public gardens. The only issue I have seen is that some varieties do need to have their wings clipped. Variegated ribbon grasses, can become quite invasive via their rhizome roots and will need to be ruthlessly curtailed each season or will quickly take over the rest of the bed. I also like to remove the seed heads from my blue fescues, as these will shamelessly reseed all over your beds. While a few fescues strategically placed are quite effective, too much of a good thing spoils the effect.
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| Ribbon Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris Arundinacea "Picta") |
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| Blue Dune Grass (Leymus Arenarius) |
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| Blue Fescue |
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| Golden Tradescantia - not a necessarily a grass, but works the same. |
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| Corkscrew Reed |
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| Seed pod of Blue Dune Grass |
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| Mycanthus - huge and great winter garden interest. |
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| Same Grass in Mid-Winter |
And that is about all I have to say for today.
Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.
With all the water and effort to try and maintain a lawn in the desert, we are now at the point of trying xeriscape. Funky grasses and drought resisant flowering plants can actually look quite appealing, and they draw hummingbirds. My condition for Kel: color and texture, not just rocks and wood chips. The city will actually pay us to do it, so time to plunge in!
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