6/23/04
The Tall and the Short of It
By: Donna Couch
Let’s
think out of the box some more. Borders….hmm let’s
see, they have to be short, right? Wrong! A tall border might
line a fence, a garage wall, or surround a gazebo. And while
I am a firm believer in colorful gardens full of multiple blooming
plants, I also use grasses in places where I need some height,
but don’t want to detract from a focal blooming plant,
and also in some places where I need a low growing green plant
to accent some colorful blooms or multi-colored foliage.
Grasses
have many uses in our gardens. Height, texture, color and form
are all important parts of a garden and grasses can be used to
fill in places where additional colors may detract from a focal
point. Or perhaps your grasses can be your focal points. Also
remember, grasses can be used in containers to accent colorful
blooms as well.
Depending
on placement and desired affect, you can choose between annual
or perennial grasses. Usually, annual grasses should be grown
in full sun to achieve their ultimate growth and beauty. One
I like is the oat family such as sea oats or wild oats. These
can grow to 3 or 4 feet in height and most of us, when we see
them, think “weeds”, because they are in that family
of plants that we tend to pull out of our beds.
I
have used several blue fescue plants in an area around our pond
that tends to need a little extra color. The blue green of the
stems make a great contrast against the gold and rust sandstone
outlining the pond. This is one of the shorter grasses that can
also be a good border plant along walkways. It creates a great
frame for colorful blooms or mixes well with other plants to
make an interesting color combination in a rock garden. It’s
one of those grasses that feels really good to bare feet when
you walk on it.
Another
grass that I have used this year is Mexican feather grass. I
first planted it last fall in front of our front porch. We have
a ranch style railing on the porch and the grass was at a height
about half way filling the opening. It kept its green color through
the winter, and this spring, with the new growth and the feathery
blooms, it is almost as high as the top railing. It creates a
border behind a white Rose of Sharon and 4 sweet myrtles planted
this spring. This small garden area is all greenery with various
sized white blooms and really is a beautiful area.
Another
great grass to utilize in the garden is red fountain grass. The
blooms and stems are a deep burgundy to purple color and create
a breathtaking contrast when used with greens, pinks and yellows.
Other grasses that are ornamental and unique are zebra grass
and horsetail.
One
perennial grass that a friend of mine uses in her garden is lemon
grass. Well known for its fragrant qualities, lemon grass can
grow to five feet in height and love to be in full sun. And of
course, don’t forget the popular pampas grass. If using
this, make sure you have lots of room for growth. Many people
are accustomed to seeing the cream-colored plumes of pampas grass
along roadways and in parks, but there is also a pink variety
that is dynamite!
Now
for those of you who really want to create a private area with
your border, bamboo might be a grass you could consider, but
beware----bamboo is a very fast spreader and have been known
to spread so fast they get out of control and take over a garden.
You must stay on top of the spreading if you want just a small
cluster of bamboo.
Hopefully
this will give you a few different ideas of new things to add
dimension to your garden. As you consider your borders, whether
short or tall, look at using some grasses to add a different
twist to your planting. Looks like we might get some showers
this week, so prepare to start weeding those gardens! Until next
time, happy gardening.
