Cooperative Living October 2014 - 26

GARDEN MUSE by Paula Steers Brown, Contributing Columnist
Splendor in the Grass
T
he older I get, the more I appreciate things that are valued
in their maturity. Take, for example, grasses. Beloved
" amber waves of grain " represent America's bounty,
pleasing both to the eye and the stomach. The Gramineae plant
family is vast and versatile and includes not only lawn grasses
and ornamental grasses, but also those that produce the world's
cereals, breads, and even its whiskey.
Lush grass, however, to the modern homeowner, often means
a growing season of constant labor and expense to mow and
maintain. What about lush grasses that cover and complement
the landscape, and do NOT have to be mowed? They are
splendid, especially now. Ornamental grasses are unsurpassed
for form, texture, and movement, and captivate most as the year
and their life cycles wane.
Low-maintenance grasses lend a natural look and soften the
landscape in every climate, soil, and size of space. Tall grasses
can be used for hedging or architectural accents. With heights
that are tree-like and excellent for screening as in the case of
bamboo, their vertical line offers refined simplicity, perfect, say,
for a contemplative garden or enclosed sanctuary. Near water,
the root system binds the soil or dunes; the plant's vertical
accent lifts the eye, a complement to the water's horizontal
plane. The wide array of forms are interesting: upright (pampas
grass), arching (Miscanthus and moor grass), mounded (fountain
grass and Hakonechloa), tufted (blue fescue), spiky
(Japanese blood grass), and divergent (oat grass).
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Grasses provide shelter and graceful edging and can be used
as companion planting, groundcover, or in containers. The common
monkey grass, Liriope, is a universal edging plant. I went
through a snobby phase where I pooh-poohed it as overused, but
later I had to consider why it is everywhere in commercial plantings
- because it is low-maintenance, amenable to various soil
and light situations, neatly compact, and dependable. I am now
a monkey-grass convert. The low growing Ophiopogon (actually
an evergreen perennial of the lily family) forms dense, mat-like
carpets in exciting ranges of color; O. " Nigrescens " has black
leaves, startling in combination with variegated white or goldenleaved
plants. Though short grasses make excellent turf-like groundcover,
consider planting medium-height grasses en masse to sway
back and forth when the wind blows, with hypnotic effect.
Airy form and movement are two of ornamental grasses' best
characteristics. Maturing grasses such as Pennisetum have
expanding filaments that become feathery, fine textures that
dance in the most delicate breeze. They offer unusual sensory
interaction with the natural world in the way they catch sunlight
and hold morning dew in plumes, spikes, panicles, and
inflorescence (clusters of tiny flowers). The effect is to lighten
dense groupings or broad-leafed foliage companions. Then,
when flowering is over, the skeletal structures still give a strong
winter presence with seed heads providing interest. As they
weather, they spread out, giving stunning ghostly effects in frost.
Panicum or switch grass is beautiful growing in open ground.
Above, Long-blooming fountain grass makes a great companion to perennials and spring bulbs.
Cooperative Living/October 2014

Cooperative Living October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living October 2014