Submitted by Stephen and Kristin on December 18, 2009 - 08:38
Posted in
- Bamboo
- Grass
- Landscaping
- Ornamentals
- Ornaments
- Sun
- Sunny Garden
- bamboo muhly grass
- corkscrew juncus
- dwarf horsetail
- evergreen paspalum
- Fakahatchee grass
- golden variegated sweet flag
- horsetail
- Mexican weeping bamboo
- muhly grass
- purple love grass
- sand cordgrass
- timber bamboo
- Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’
- Bambusa oldhamii
- Equisetum hyemale
- Equisetum scirpoides
- Eragrostis spectabilis
- Juncus effusus ‘Spiralis’
- Muhlenbergia capillaris
- Muhlenbergia dumosa
- Otatea acuminata aztecorum
- Paspalum quadrifarium
- Spartina bakeri
- Tripsacum dactyloides
Pategai On Design: Grasses Soothe the Soul
Sunny spots and these grasses are faithful companions
By Stephen G. Pategas RLA, ASLA and Kristin G. Pategas APLD, FCLD
December, 2009
Sunny spots and these grasses are faithful companions
By Stephen G. Pategas RLA, ASLA and Kristin G. Pategas APLD, FCLD
December, 2009
Have tree shaded areas segued into full sun? Are those shady gardens transformed to sunny, scorched war zones? Roses not your thing? Turn to ornamental grasses to please the eye and soothe the soul. Numerous grasses and grass-like plants provide a variety of sizes from the diminutive, moisture-loving dwarf horsetail to the soaring and clumping giant timber bamboo reaching above two story rooftops.
Create sweeping masses of waving grasses and select from a range of textures and colors. Purple love grass (Eragrostis spectabilis) is topped by a purplish-rose haze and muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) with its lacy reddish-purple flower spikes check in at 12 to 16 inch and 24 to 30 inch heights respectively. Two of our favorites, featured in our garden are evergreen paspalum (Paspalum quadrifarium) with its graceful narrow green leaves creating 3½ foot wide and tall clumps and bamboo muhly grass (Muhlenbergia dumosa) at five feet tall overall.Mixed plantings in containers attract the eye when the fine texture of a grass is included. Toffee Twist sedge (Carex flagellifera ‘Toffee Twist’) and 
Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) are good small scale performers that weep over pot edges and can also be used as groundcovers. Use edible lemon grass in a pot or in the ground where its coarse textural foliage stretches to a 3 foot height.
Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima) are good small scale performers that weep over pot edges and can also be used as groundcovers. Use edible lemon grass in a pot or in the ground where its coarse textural foliage stretches to a 3 foot height.Bog and water gardens can benefit from a spiky foliage look. The golden yellow and green vertically striped ten inch height foliage of golden variegated sweet flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’) can accent moist areas, bog gardens, or a pot. Corkscrew juncus (Juncus effusus ‘Spiralis’) has a head full of unruly twisty leaves reaching a 12 to 16 inch height that looks like it just crawled out of bed. Pass on the comb but keep it subm tenuissima-146x194.jpg "Mexican feather grass weeps in a pot")
erged 3 to 5 inches. Place the potentially invasive and 6 inch high dwarf horsetail (Equisetum scirpoides) in a wet container to create a shaving brush-like tuft of wiry ridged green stems. Horsetail (E. hyemale) reaches a height of 4 feet on thicker stems and also needs to be contained with moisture. Sand cordgrass (Spartina bakeri) loves dry to moist soil conditions and even takes the periodic inundation found along lake and retention pond edges. The narrow leaf blades form rounded mounds to 4 foot height and spread.
erged 3 to 5 inches. Place the potentially invasive and 6 inch high dwarf horsetail (Equisetum scirpoides) in a wet container to create a shaving brush-like tuft of wiry ridged green stems. Horsetail (E. hyemale) reaches a height of 4 feet on thicker stems and also needs to be contained with moisture. Sand cordgrass (Spartina bakeri) loves dry to moist soil conditions and even takes the periodic inundation found along lake and retention pond edges. The narrow leaf blades form rounded mounds to 4 foot height and spread.For a privacy hedge, ignore the passé pampas grass with its huge razor sharp bladed clumps and consider the Florida native Fakahatchee grass (Tripsacum dactyloides) that reaches 6 to 8 feet or the graceful Mexican weeping bamboo (Otatea acuminata aztecorum) with its arching and clumping stems and long narrow leaves reaching 20 feet. Two story buildings can be screened with giant timber bamboo (Bambusa oldhamii) which has stout stems stretching to 60 feet.
The grasses are low maintenance typically requiring only a late winter haircut if the foliage looks tattered. New emerging leaves usher in the new growing season and are soon swaying in the breeze.
Kristin and Stephen Pategas are co-owners of Hortus Oasis in Winter Park, FL, providing garden design and garden photography services. Visit them at www.hortusoasis.com and contact them at garden@hortusoasis.com.
