Monday 24 February 2014

Grasses

I suspect that I am not alone in having a perception that grass is a bit boring. When grass is mentioned, most people visualise the sort of grass that lawns are made of, but the type that I am writing about today is not that type. It is the ornamental type. My interest in these grasses is very recent. I have noticed that several of my neighbours have created "low-maintenance" gardens with stones, slate and -- grasses. Taking a closer look, I can now see the attraction. They have a form and nature very different to the more conventional flowers. I especially like how they move in the wind - and we have had plenty of that recently!

In early January I was in a Garden Centre looking for seed potatoes, failed on that score, and ended up instead buying a couple of plants that were being sold off cheaply. One of them was a Carex "Prairie Fire".


The plant I bought was not big, and it was a bit bedraggled, but I still thought it was good value at £1.99. As I have read that Carex is quite a tolerant species, I have planted it in a place where I didn't think much else would prosper. Of course I'm hoping it will not only survive but also thrive and expand. We shall see.


Very close to where I planted my new Carex, some volunteer plants have popped up, and I think they may also be grasses of some sort. This is one that I dug up and put into a pot about 3 or 4 months ago. Since then it has been in the coldframe and has grown a fair bit. Does anyone recognise it?






Yesterday I planted that one next to the "Prairie Fire", so who knows, maybe this is the start of my latest craze? Oh, before I finish I have a question for those of you who know about such things: do grasses like this propagate easily by root-division?

Unrelated to the grasses mentioned above, the other plant I bought when I got the Carex was a Hellebore. The particular specimen I chose had several flower-buds on it, and I was hopeful that they would give me a little bit of Late Winter colour, but unfortunately they have still not opened - about six weeks later!


What do you think might be holding them back?

6 comments:

  1. Must admit I', not a grasses fan. I see the attraction but prefer flowers.

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  2. I'm not a fan of grasses, I much prefer your hellebore. I don't know what would hold it back for such a long time but I'm sure it will open up as soon as it's ready.

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  3. I like the grasses that have gorgeous puffy flower heads. They are popular here as they are such low maintenance. We have one kind of grass planted in our garden (well besides the lawn grass), but I've never liked the variety as it isn't a very showy one. The cats seem to love it though.

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  4. I've never been too fond of them although some can be rather pretty.

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  5. I am fond of ornamental grasses which includes varieties of plants of the genera Poaceae (true grasses), Juncaceaceae (rushes), and Cyperaceae (sedges). People are little acquainted with the use of ornamental grasses in planing our gardens. Just check how Piet Oudolf does it. I think you'll love it.

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  6. I wasn't that interested in ornamental grasses until I saw a black grass on someone's blog! I'd never seen anything like it, and it had broad, flat leaves rather than the thinner, cylindrical type. I've since found you can also get a similar grass in red. I do intend to get a few maybe later in the year/next year, as I'm re-vamping the garden first and don't know yet where I'm putting them. Interested to see how you get on with yours, especially that unknown one in its own pot - looks intriguing.

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