Gardening with Grasses
Ornamental grasses bring a beauty and architecture to the garden that you can’t get any other way. I can’t imagine gardening without grasses. Getting started with ornamental grasses can be a bit daunting.  After all when you’re selecting plants at your favourite nursery (hopefully Canning Perennials) all grasses seem to look the same.  They look like . . . well . . .  just a pot of grass!  So how do you get started?  If you live within driving distance do come and visit.  Wander around my grass-filled gardens.  You’ll get lots of ideas.

Following are some of our most popular grasses.  Give one or two a try.  But beware – just like me you might get hooked!  By the way – don’t be afraid – most grasses available today are well behaved clump-forming varieties.  Not at all invasive – and that includes all the varieties described below.

Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’  Feather Reed Grass
This is our best selling grass and former Perennial Plant of the Year. It has an upright form, growing about 4-5' tall and maxing out at about 3' wide.  Excellent as a specimen or mass planted.  It is always moving, rustling, undulating.  Smokey purple blooms are produced in early summer followed by showy wheat-coloured seed heads.

Calamagrostis ‘Avalanche’ was introduced a few years ago and is actually an improvement over ‘Karl’. It is taller, exceptionally upright with slightly large flowers and seed heads.

Miscanthus ‘Strictus’   There are now dozens of Miscanthus varieties from small dwarfs like ‘Little Zebra’ which is only 3' tall to giants like ‘Giganteus’’ that reach a towering 12'.  All the Miscanthus varieties are much in demand because of their interesting, cascading foliage and showy plumes.  The most popular variety is Porcupine Grass or ‘Strictus’.  Growing 5-6' tall it has a very upright form and dark green foliage with dramatic, golden-yellow, horizontal banding.  Showy plumes are produced in late summer and early fall.

Zebra Grass -- Miscanthus ‘Zebrinus’ -- is also very popular.  It is quite similar in coloration to Porcupine Grass however its form is more vase-shaped rather than upright.

Miscanthus Blutenwunder is a newer variety with voluptuous, green cascading foliage.  It produces masses of big, beautiful plumes which persist through the fall and winter. 

Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ also known as Maiden Grass has been around for ages – and for good reason.  It has an excellent upright form with masses of fountain-like, narrow green leaves and coppery-pink plumes in late summer and the fall.  ‘Gracillimus’ grows 5-7’ tall.  If you want a similar form but a smaller size, try the Dwarf Maiden Grass Miscanthus ‘Yaku-Jima’.

Blue foliaged plants are always in high demand and two of the best groups are Festuca and Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon).
Both varieties are drought tolerant and do very well in a hot, dry, sunny location.  These grasses are an easy way to add good-looking, low maintenance, foliage colour to the garden.  They are great as accents, groundcover or mass planted.  They can also be used in a container planting.

There are several Festuca varieties on the market.  For the bluest colour look for Festuca ‘Elijah Blue’ or ‘Boulder Blue’.    Blue Oat Grass is more properly called Helictotrichon sempervirens and any of its hybrids such as ‘Sapphire Fountain’ are excellent.

Are you gardening in a dry, shady location?  Try Sea Oats or Chasmanthium.  This is the best grass for this difficult location.  It is a very interesting grass with bamboo-like foliage and dangling seed heads that resemble little fish.  Charming and not at all invasive.  It can also be grown in full sun. 

Gardeners are always looking for colour.  Carex are a group of grass-like plants that offer many varieties with colourful foliage.  ‘Bowles Golden’ and ‘Golden Fountains’ have gorgeous brilliant gold, cascading leaves. Combine these with the dark foliage of a Heuchera to create a dynamite combination.

  Carex comans Bronze and Carex buchananii have wonderful copper-bronze, wiry foliage resembling a bad hair day.  Give them lots of room so that their shape and colour can be thoroughly appreciated.  These unique grasses are wonderful when planted in a grouping or used in a container.

 Looking for some variegation?  Try Carex ‘Evergold’ or ‘Ice Dance’. They are low growing, clump formers with multiple garden uses and are particularly lovely around a pond or stream and ideal for a container.

We still have a great selection of grasses – available for mail order or personal shopping.   Try some.  You’ll love’em!

 

   
Gardening Tip
Do you wonder how to make your garden look better?  Following are a few design tips that I have found to be very effective:
Plant in groups.  Are you planting one of each variety?  Create greater impact by planting 3, 5 or even 7 of one variety.
Repeat plant material & colour.  Repetition creates continuity and ties the garden together.
Consider the shape of plants.  The garden tends to have this consistent horizontal look.  Plant tall spiky things to provide vertical presence.
Consider the shape of flowers.  Use a variety of floral shapes, ie spikes, daisies and ball shaped plants.
Use bold colours.  Yes, pastels are nice, but don’t be afraid of bold contrasting combinations.  Experiment.


 
The Stellas  - Daylilies that Bloom All Summer
Gardeners have embraced ‘Stella d’oro’ for decades.  Here is a daylily that produces bright yellow blooms all summer long.  For a long time Stella only had one side kick –  ‘Mini Stella’.  (No they were not in an Austin Power’s movie!)  ‘Mini Stella’ was just a smaller version with the same old yellow flowers.   However this year we can celebrate the introduction of ‘Ruby Stella’ and ‘Purple d’Oro’.  Both daylilies bloom over a very long period and are not yellow!  ‘Ruby Stella’ produces large ruby red flowers and ‘Purple d’Oro’ is set with smaller lavender purple blooms.  If you enjoy yellow try the new and improved ‘Stella’ – ‘Stella Supreme’.  This version has soft yellow blooms.
Want an eye-popping, low maintenance display this summer?  Mass plant the Stellas.  Add some ornamental grasses like Miscanthus ‘Gold Bar’ and Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’.
Please see our Catalogue for images and more information.

   
Great Combinations
In the hot summer I love hot colour combinations.  One of my favourites is:
Red Hot Poker – like Kniphofia ‘Bressingham Comet’ or ‘Shining Sceptre’
Blanket Flower – try the new Gaillardia ‘Fanfare’ or the old Gaillardia ‘Goblin’
You can cool down these hotties with Lady’s Mantle – Alchemilla mollis and some purple blooms from  Salvia ‘Caradonna.