When you have:
- Poor clay soil
- That stays wet for too long
- And your yard is infested (I mean pleasantly occupied) with deer
- And there isn’t a shaded spot to be found
You quickly learn to seek out the few plants that will survive such conditions.
When I first laid eyes on an ornamental grass years ago, it was like I missed the true beauty sitting by herself in the back of the room.
I had been distracted all along by the “popular” plants that looked all sexy and were throwing themselves at me. Sure they’re great the day you take them home, but man they look harsh the next morning and you just hope they’ll come up out of the soil and jump into the compost heap, never to be heard from again.
Real brief bit of history – Ornamental grasses were popular during the Victorian era back in the 1800’s as they were appreciated for their naturalistic look and for being a bit tropical. They then fell out of favor until the 1970’s and 1980’s. One of the premier landscape architect’s of the time, German Wolfgang Oehme, from Germany, displayed his love of ornamental grasses all over Washington DC and the movement was on. Other influential grass lovers of the time include James Van Sweden and Kurt Bluemel.
Quick side note – a must read is Ornamental Grasses: Wolfgang Oehme and the New American Garden
Why I have so much OG love:
- They are trouble free, other than a haircut in early spring before new growth emerges
- They have no issues with insects and disease
- They are TRULY deer resistant
- They catch light so well which only enhances their beauty
- They provide movement in the garden when wind swept; a way underrated design element
- They manage to hold a level of interest even in the winter
- They can be massed for screening purposes or as a backdrop to other shrubs and perennials.
- They can act as an accent or as a focal point. My preference is to use them in mixed borders for contrasting purposes.
- They look fantastic in containers as the “thriller” element
- There are cool season and warm season varieties of OG’s which give you OG love at all times of season.
- A few different varieties I’ve got planted:
- While dividing an OG may require a hacksaw, once done they quickly establish themselves. I divided one Panicum into the three divisions below in the spring:
Thank you for indulging my OG obsession. It is always at a high this time of year. I look forward to adding even more in the spring 2011.
Have a great weekend!
ONG
You have made remarkable positive progress in the continuing design of your gardens. The ornamental grasses crank up the landscape by a quantum leap of notches. Beautiful work. Be proud!
Once again, a powerfully presented blog. The vernacular style of expression that you capture in your writing sets you apart from all other garden bloggers. Hope your friends and family appreciates the unique talent that you possess.
You have the perfect setting for ornamental grasses. I love them!!
Wonderful! Very clever post. I’m with you about OG’s – they are indispensable in the garden I think, even if you don’t have to contend with deer!
Allan – thank you for the kind words. I am truly humbled.
Kim/Jean – thanks for reading and loving the OG’s as well!
Beautiful pictures of beautiful grasses. You combine them with perennials really well, has given me several ideas.
I’m diggin on your OGs, too. Especially that deer part. I have yet to have a deer touch my grasses.
I couldn’t agree more, there are plants that I love unabashedly. I wish I had space to do huge plantings of them. They are one of the few plants that have interest in all season and really are a highlight of the fall garden. Great post!
I’m pretty late to the party, but just wanted to warn folks that some of these grasses are aggressively invasive. We had two Miscanthus sinensis which spread to a wild area next to our house, via seed. There are 13(!) of them we now have to dig out and destroy. Consider going with native ornamental grasses- there are a lot which are well suited to our area.