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You are here: Martin's Yard and Garden > Past YardTalk Index > Using Ornamental Grass in the Border Garden (05.01.2008)
Using Ornamental Grass in the Border GardenNo Way! No How! Was my immediate response when ask a few years ago if we would be using ornamental grasses in our gardens. My beds were just too small and the sunny areas too precious to be taken over by such big unruly plants.Of course, this was like when I was a kid telling the little girl next door to get lost saying "Who wants a girl hanging around ?" only to discover a few years later that they were not so bad after all. Needless to say, today we use many varieties of grasses in our gardens. Why not? Grasses truly are attractive and not rampantly aggressive. Sort of like that girl next door. Like their weedy cousins, ornamentals are tough, resilient and not susceptible to any insect or disease problems. Best of all they require no weeding, spraying, and much less fertilization than other garden plants. Ornamental grasses are an excellent choice for gardeners trying to create a low maintenance landscape. Once established, they require no watering and only a late Winter hair cut to promote new growth. Even the most novice gardener cannot go wrong growing grasses. What better plant, with their strong vertical form and feathery flower heads, for a border or privacy screening? The leaf blades add fine texture and colors of metallic blues, burgundy, white, creamy yellow and every shade of green imaginable. On top of this their foliage is always simmering, catching the sun's rays in ever changing patterns. Throw in their impressive array of flower plumes and seed heads, add a few butterflies and birds, and you have one very beautiful garden setting. Ornamental grasses grow best in full to partial sun, but will tolerate a wide range of conditions. Grasses are not fussy about the soil conditions. If you are planting them into an existing bed, just add a few inches of organic matter and till in. For a new bed we like to work the soil deep, adding lots of organic matter. While this does not necessarily improve vigor it does make future moving or dividing easier. Grasses can be planted successfully just about any time of the year. Just be careful to plant them at the same level they were potted at , and water it in well. Most grasses go dormant during the Winter months. In late January, cut the plants back to within a few inches of the ground. If possible, burn the dead foliage instead of cutting as this promotes vigorous new growth. Whether you cut or burn, it must be done before the fresh, new growth comes up. Some grass we have used successfully in our garden are:
While these we found easy to use, there are many more out there to try. We recommend that you visit our Plant Data Base (www.myg.info) and go to Amber Wave's ornamental grass site (http://www .amberwavegardens.com/) to see just how great grasses look. As you will discover, these rugged plants have much to offer the home gardener. |
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