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Glorious Grasses
Globe and Mail Column
June 21 2003
One of the greatest gifts we have from European gardeners is the style of grasses we now have at our beck and call. In the 1950s, plantsmen like Karl Foerster developed such beauteous grasses that some of them now bear his name. Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' (feather reed grass) is one of the best. It grows to five feet tall including the long feathery flowers (inflorescence) over shiny green foliage in sun or shade, well-drained or clay soil and looks great in winter. What more could one ask for in a plant?
The style of using huge grasses along with large perennials was taken up by the ace American designers Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden. They built public gardens that looked good for all but a few weeks of the year in place of those wretched bedding out plant designs so beloved of municipalities in the 1960s.
When going along streets now graced by raised beds with a brilliant yellow vine such as Ipomoea 'Marguerite' spilling over the edges and watch the weekly rise of the ornamental grasses behind, I give a nod of thanks to these people. We are also unbelievably lucky in Toronto to have the magnificent Music Garden on our waterfront. It makes just about the best use of grasses I've seen anywhere and should be a constant source of inspiration for all Canadian gardeners. What better way to describe music than the soft swaying of grasses in the wind? Especially winter winds when all else around seems static.
What all designers are seeking when they use grasses are strong contrasting textures and, of course all the subtleties of movement. Combined with tall perennials and ferns, they will create pockets of interest almost year round. It's impossible not to be seduced by grasses and they demand very little in return: perhaps well drained soil, some sun, and water when things get too dry. But on the whole there's no weeding or feeding. They are nature's survivors. One caveat is to whack them back to about 5 cm from the ground then be patient until the soil has warmed up to see new growth-it may take a couple of weeks.
Colour is another reason to use grasses and here are some wonderful varieties to try:
Blue: Helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass); Festuca glauca (blue fescue) either 'Blue boulder' 'Elija Blue' are outstanding small plants. Panicum virgatum 'Prairie Sky' and 'Heavy Metal' have a dramatic blue cast .
Gold: Hakenochloa macra aureola; Carex elata, Bowles' golden grass; Milium effusum 'Aureum' (Golden Millet Grass) Red: Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' Japanese blood grass; Miscanthus sinensis purpurea (red Eulalia grass): Miscanthus sinensis 'Huron Sunrise' (with burgundy flowers, it grows to almost 2M). Pennisetum rubrum: has been my favourite container annual until along came the ornamental millet 'Purple Majesty' which looks like a magnificent magenta corn plant. It's a spectacular annual from Z6 and colder.
Variegation: Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' ; Carex conica 'Hime-kan-suge' (shade tolerant as well); Alopecurus pratensis 'Aureovariagatus' foxtail grass
Stipa tenuissima is a little beauty which was being sold this spring as a possible candidate to survive as a perennial in Zone 6 but I'd had no luck with it previously and I would sure like to know how it panned out for others.
Just about every grass is gorgeous in a container and they will winter nicely in shatter-proof pots. There is a grass for every season in your garden which will give a new and surprising context for other plants. It will bring out the best in almost any shrub, tree or perennial.
Www.marjorieharris.com Marjorie Harris is editor-in-chief of Gardening Life.
Copyright Marjorie Harris, 2005
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